FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas women's basketball team sliced a 20-point deficit to four against top-ranked South Carolina, but the Gamecocks were able to answer at the end to claim a 61-52 SEC road victory Sunday afternoon.
All-American Aliyah Boston sandwiched her only four points of the second half around Brea Beal's steal and layup to help South Carolina quell the Razorbacks' late momentum and escape with the win in front of a crowd of 4,265 fans in Walton Arena.
Arkansas (11-6, 1-3 SEC) answered a 15-0 South Carolina run with one of its own to get within 53-49 with 4 minutes, 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But South Carolina (17-1, 5-1) responded to finish with a flourish.
Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said seeing South Carolina in person did nothing to dispel his opinion of the Gamecocks of being the best team in the country. He's equally impressed by Boston, who tallied her 11th consecutive double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Gamecocks dominated the glass, outrebounding Arkansas, 45-25, and held the Razorbacks to 28% shooting.
Neighbors said he was proud of his team's response after admonishing them during a third-quarter timeout. He wasn't pleased with the team's energy after South Carolina hit the Razorbacks with a 15-0 third-quarter run to claim a 51-31 lead.
"I got on them as hard as got on them all year long, because I didn't like what it looked like out there for that little spurt," Neighbors said. "I told 'em we had a great crowd out there on a snowy day, and they did not come to see that. And man, did they respond.
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"It gives me a lotta hope for what we got. But again, the job that [South Carolina coach] Dawn [Staley] and her staff doesn't get the credit, even though they're ranked number one. I don't think they get talked about enough for how they've been dominating this year."
Arkansas bounced off the ropes with an identical 15-0 run of its own and pulled within 53-49 on two free throws by Makayla Daniels at the 4:20 mark. Boston hit two free throws and Beal stole the inbound pass and scored to push a four-point lead to eight in a matter of seconds with 3:56 remaining and Arkansas never recovered.
Daniels led Arkansas with 17 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. The junior guard said the Razorbacks got more aggressive in the fourth and went at the bigger Gamecocks.
"I think you can't be afraid of them blocking your shot," Daniels said. "They're gonna get their blocks, but there's also other ways to get them to foul you, get into their body. I think in the fourth quarter we kinda realized that and I wished we'd realized that prior to but I think we didn't have a choice but to be aggressive in the fourth quarter."
Neighbors said the fact that South Carolina came in ranked No. 1 played at part into his team's passive reaction.
"They're up X number of points when they get off the bus right now," Neighbors said. "We've gotta learn to not let that happen and we got punched. They punched us right there ... first time for a lot of our kids to see the number one team in the country."
Destanni Henderson was the only other Gamecock in double figures, matching Boston's game-high 19 points. She also hit a game-high four three-pointers.
Amber Ramirez added 14 for the Razorbacks.
South Carolina went scoreless for nearly five minutes in the second quarter but outscored Arkansas 9-2 to close the half and led 36-27 at halftime. The nine-point advantage was the Gamecocks' biggest of the half.
Boston keyed that spurt with seven straight points and finished the half with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Razorbacks got off to a quick start and led midway through the first quarter, but again South Carolina finished the quarter with a 8-0 run to grab an 18-13 lead. Arkansas went scoreless for just under five minutes, but Daniels' snapped to drought with a three-pointer seconds into the second quarter.
Arkansas is scheduled to continue SEC play at Alabama on Thursday evening. Tip-off time is slated for 8 p.m. on the SEC Network. The Crimson Tide lost 85-77 to Florida on Sunday.
SOUTH CAROLINA;M;FG;FT;O-R;PF;A;PTS
Boston;33;6-13;7-7;5-13;2;1;19
Saxton;30;2-3;0-0;3-9;1;2;4
Cooke;20;1-7;2-2;1-4;0;1;4
Henderson;37;7-17;1-2;0-1;3;3;19
Beal;25;2-3;0-0;1-3;2;0;5
Littleton;23;2-5;0-0;0-5;0;2;6
Amihere;11;1-1;2-2;0-1;2;1;4
Rivers;7;0-1;0-0-;0-1;1;0;0
Cardoso;6;1-2;0-0-;0-1;0;0;0
Grissett;7;0-0;0-1;0-1;0;0
Feagin;1;0-0;0-0-;0-0;0;0;0
Team;;;;1-4;;;
Totals;200;21-51;12-15;11-45;12;10;61
PCT — FG 41.2 FT 80.0. 3-PT — 7-18. 38.9 (Henderson 4-7, Littleton 2-5, Beal 1-1). BL — 8 (Saxton 6). TO — 19 (Cooke, Henderson 4). ST — 5 (Boston, Saxton, Cooke, Henderson, Beal).
Arkansas;M;FG;FT;O-R;PF;A;PTS
Spencer;34;2-4;1-1;1-4;0;1;6
Goforth;26;4-15;0-0;1-3;3;2;8
Ramirez;39;5-8;2-2;0-2;0;0;14
Daniels;37;4-15;7-8;2-5;2;2;17
Wolfenbarger;26;1-11;0-0;0-0;4;2;3
Langerman;12;0-1;1-2;1-2;4;0;1
Eaton;2;0-2;0-0;0-0;1;0;0
Ellis;23;1-4;0-0;1-3;4;0;3
Oberg;1;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0
Team;;;;1-1;;;
Totals;200;17-60;11-13;8-25;18;7;52
PCT — FG 28.3, FT 84.6. 3-PT — 7-29. 24.1 (Ramirez 2-3, Daniels 2-6, Spencer 1-1, Ellis 1-3, Wolfenbarger 1-9). BL — 4 (Wolfenbarger 2). TO —10 (Wolfenbarger 3. ST — 9 (Daniels 3).
South Carolina;18 18 16 10 — 61
Arkansas;13 14 10 15 — 52
Officials — Eric Brewton, Roy Gubeyan, Natasha Carry
Attendance — 4,265