No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball left no doubt that it was ready for it first round game against No. 16 Howard on Friday. The Gamecocks, which lost 64–62 to Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship, set the tone early and took a commanding 44–4 lead into halftime against the Bison. They went on to win the game 79–21.
To put the Gamecocks’ dominance in perspective, by holding Howard to four points in a half, South Carolina set a new NCAA tournament record for the fewest points allowed in a half of a first or second round game.
The previous low was eight points in the first half in a game between Prairie View and Baylor on March 20, 2011. While South Carolina shot only 36% from the floor in the first half, the Gamecocks dominated the rebounds category, finishing the game with a 69 to 28 edge on the boards.
Howard entered its game against South Carolina after defeating Incarnate Word 55–51 in First Four action on Wednesday.
Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston, who entered Friday’s game with an SEC record 24 consecutive double doubles, recorded her 25th in the second half of the game, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
With the win, the Gamecocks will face the winner of the No. 8 Miami and No. 9 South Florida matchup.
