March Madness 2022: South Carolina beats Miami despite bad shooting

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South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley said as long as her defense can keep playing this good, her team's bad shooting can fix itself, later in the NCAA Tournament.

The top-seeded Gamecocks (31-2) held a second opponent without a field goal in the second quarter to beat Miami 49-33 on Sunday in the second round of the tournament.

It was ugly shooting all around. South Carolina shot just 30% and the Hurricanes (21-13) shot just 24% for the game.

But Staley, making her eighth Sweet 16 appearance in a row, said that defense is a nice security blanket for a team that has shot 37% or worse four of its past five games. The 54 points allowed in the first two rounds of the women's NCAAs is 17 fewer than any other team has allowed in its first two games.

"There’s a nastiness to us on that side of the basketball. It wins basketball games for us," Staley said.

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South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston (4) looks to pass the ball around Miami forward Lola Pendande right, during the first half a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and 16 rebounds. Her 26th double-double in a row seemed in doubt until she was fouled with 1:19 left as Miami tried to extend the game. The All-American hit both free throws. Boston was just 4-of-15 from the field, missing both her 3-pointers and made just two of six free throws.

"I think I was just moving a little too fast," Boston said.

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi of Miami led all scorers with 15 points. The 6-foot-4 forward only shot 3-pointers, going 5-of-11. The