A mighty big road win: No. 1 Gamecocks handle No. 5 Huskies in Connecticut

No. 1 South Carolina snagged an impressive road victory in Sunday’s national championship rematch.

The Gamecocks (23-0) defeated No. 5 UConn 81-77 to earn the program’s first win in Connecticut over Geno Auriemma’s squad.

USC lost its best perimeter defender — Brea Beal — early in the game after she picked up two fouls. The Gamecocks trailed by 11 points after the first quarter.

South Carolina outscored UConn 20-9 in the second quarter to tie the game by halftime. The team remained aggressive in the period and for the game by getting to the free-throw line.

Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke were a combined 0-for-13 shooting in the first half, but Boston came up big for the Gamecocks in the second half and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The game’s momentum shifted late when Auriemma was called for a technical foul for throwing a water bottle on the court to dispute a no-call. Boston made the two technical free throws, made a midrange shot and knocked down a 3-pointer to put USC up double digits at the time.

South Carolina has now won three straight in the series against UConn and four of the last five, including the 64-49 victory April 3 in last season’s national title game. Sunday’s win was also the 29th straight for the Gamecocks, tying a program record for consecutive victories.

USC hits the road again to face Auburn on Thursday.

SECOND QUARTER SURGE

South Carolina kept in the same lineup for the entire second quarter: Kamilla Cardoso, Boston, Raven Johnson, Cooke and Laeticia Amihere.

That group outscored UConn by 11 points in the quarter, mostly due to the production of Cardoso. She recorded 11 points on 4-4 shooting in that 10-minute stretch, coming through when Cooke and Boston didn’t have a field goal at the time.

This kept the Gamecocks in the game, where they’d later find a way to take control down the stretch.

Cardoso finished with 17 points before fouling out.

POSTSEASON PUSH

The win will keeps South Carolina as the nation’s No. 1 team, and one of two undefeated teams.

USC entered the game as the top team in the NET rankings, and now has four wins against ranked teams.

The Gamecocks still have one more game against a Top 25 team, when No. 3 LSU comes to Columbia on Feb. 12. It also faces Tennessee — the third-place team in the SEC — on Feb. 23 in Knoxville.

NEXT FOUR SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES

• Thursday: at Auburn, 8 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

• Feb. 12: home vs. LSU, 2 p.m. (ESPN)

• Feb. 16: home vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

• Feb. 19: at Ole Miss, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)