GREENSBORO — Aliyah Boston needed only three seconds to score the first basket of the night—driving straight to the paint after the jump ball and sending it in for an easy layup.
It set the tone. In a fast-paced, aggressive contest, No. 1 South Carolina punched its ticket to the Elite Eight by outlasting No. 5 North Carolina, 69–61. And the difference-maker for the Gamecocks—as it has been so often this year—was Boston. She scored 28 points, one shy of her personal best, and finished with 22 rebounds. The night was a display of everything that has made her a leading candidate for national player of the year, and at the end, she took over entirely: All 13 of South Carolina’s fourth-quarter points came from her.