South Carolina women's basketball: Destanni Henderson's career day leads Gamecocks

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Behind a career game from Destanni Henderson and another double-double from Aliyah Boston, South Carolina women’s basketball pulled away from Ole Miss late for a 71-57 win.

Ole Miss kept the game close for three quarters, but a 12-0 South Carolina run in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach. LeLe Grissett got the run started with a pair of free throws. Henderson fed Boston for a layup before the Ole Miss defense could get set. Zia Cooke hit a 15-foot jumper and then Boston forced a missed shot. Henderson hit Brea Beal ahead of the defense for a layup, and then Grissett capped things with a couple of layups.

Henderson tied her career-high with 23 points and tied her season-high with eight assists. She was the beneficiary of all the attention Boston drew early and then picked her spots in the second half, playing both the scorer and distributor.

• WBB Analysis: Ole Miss

Boston finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for her 21st consecutive double-double. She had nine points and nine rebounds at halftime, but the Gamecocks got away from her in the third quarter. They made sure to go back to her in the fourth and she was too strong for Shakira Austin.

Austin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, but South Carolina was able to give her trouble defensively by mixing up looks. In the first meeting, Victoria Saxton was the primary defender on Austin, but this time Grissett drew the assignment. Grissett gave up strength defensively, but she was quicker on offense. Austin had to chase her around or switch onto Boston, and both played into South Carolina’s hands.

• Uva’s Instant Reaction

For three quarters Ole Miss was able to limit South Carolina’s offensive rebound and that kept the game close. South Carolina had just eight offensive rebounds and six second-chance points. South Carolina got four offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. While South Carolina wasn’t getting second-chance points, it was able to get transition points. South Carolina had 16 fast break points, plus another handful of baskets that came before Ole Miss could get set.

“Our transition D was just awful,” Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “That got away from us.”

For three quarters, Ole Miss had about as much offensive success as any team this season. Ole Miss was shooting over 41% and had scored 17, 16, and 16 over the first three quarters. South Carolina clamped down in the fourth and held Ole Miss to just 2-10 shooting and eight points in the fourth quarter.

“I just thought we ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. I thought South Carolina did a great job continuing to play at a level that will get them to victory. That’s why they’re the #1 team in the nation.”

South Carolina women’s basketball game notes:

For the third time this season, South Carolina wore its pinstriped alternate uniforms. … Kamilla Cardoso did not play with an upper-body injury. It is not expected to be a long-term issue. …Beal had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. She hadn’t scored in double figures since January 31, 2021, against Alabama. She tied her career-high for assists. … Cooke scored eight of her 12 points in the first quarter. … Boston passed 1,000 rebounds for her career. …Announced attendance was 3,221. … South Carolina’s next game is Friday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.