COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Lauren Hansen made a driving layup with 0.1 seconds left and Missouri stunned No. 1 South Carolina 70-69 in overtime Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers (12-2) overcame the absence of scoring leader Aijha Blackwell and four other players to beat a No. 1 team for the first time in program history. It marked only the seventh time an unranked team has beaten the top-ranked team.
South Carolina (12-1) was coming off its biggest comeback in school history, overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat No. 2 Stanford last Tuesday. On Thursday night, the Tigers always had an answer when the Gamecocks cut it close.
Hansen and Hayley Frank each scored 21 points, LaDazhia Williams added 12, and Mama Dembele had 11. The Gamecocks trailed by as many as six in final three minutes of regulation.
Aliyah Boston scored 17 points for South Carolina. Kamilla Cardoso added 14, and Zia Cooke had 10.
The last time the Gamecocks lost a regular-season SEC game against an unranked team was to Missouri back in 2017.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: Boston couldn’t quite get it going in the first half, which proved costly for the Gamecocks. They’ll have a week to regroup before their next game.
Missouri: This is potentially their biggest win in program history and they did it playing just seven players. For a team picked 10th in the preseason poll in the SEC, the Tigers appear to be a much more lethel group in the conference and maybe even the nation.
UP NEXT
South Carolina: At LSU on Jan. 6.
Missouri: At Vanderbilt on Sunday.
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