No. 1 South Carolina women beat Creighton, reach Final Four

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — South Carolina and Aliyah Boston gained what they'd pointed toward all season — a shot at redemption at the Final Four.

Boston scored 19 points to lead the top-seeded Gamecocks to their second straight Final Four with an 80-50 win over Creighton, ending the Bluejays surprise run through the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.

The Gamecocks (33-2) took control early and rarely gave Creighton a chance to get back into the game, which ended with South Carolina getting its fourth Final Four appearance in the past seven tournaments.

Boston lost her streak of 27 double-doubles in a row, as she had seven rebounds in the blowout. She's happy, though, to have another chance to compete for a national crown and wipe away the disappointment from last season.

That's when Boston missed a short putback in the closing moments of the Gamecocks' 66-65 loss to eventual NCAA champion Stanford in the national semifinals. She collapsed in tears on the court and has been almost single-minded in wanting to finish what the team missed out on then.

“It’s exciting,” Boston said of the Final Four return. “We said in the locker room, we’ve got unfinished business.”

The Gamecocks will face either Louisville or Michigan on Friday in the Final Four. The top-seeded Cardinals play the No. 3 seed Wolverines for the Wichita Region title on Monday night.

South Carolina danced and celebrated the win on Sunday as Boston held up two fingers for its back-to-back Final Fours. Boston was named the Greensboro Region MVP for her dominance through four games with 67 points and 57 boards combined.

Her signature moment, though, came Friday night against North Carolina when Boston posted 28 points, 22 rebounds and scored all 13 of South