All-Americans! Pair from Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks earn national honor
All season long, senior guard Tyasha Harris and freshman forward Aliyah Boston were steadying forces for South Carolina women’s basketball, helping to anchor the back and frontcourt, respectively.
Now, they’re All-Americans.
The Associated Press released its three women’s basketball All-American squads Thursday, with Boston landing on the second team and Harris on the third team. They’re only the seventh and eighth players in program history to be named AP All-Americans, and Boston is only the second freshman.
In her very first game as a Gamecock, Boston made history as the first player in Division I history to record a triple-double in her debut with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks against Alabama State.
That kicked off a rookie season in which she averaged 12.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. And she was especially good against the best opponents — in 14 games against ranked foes, Boston averaged 13 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. On the season, Boston shot 60.9% from the field, second in the conference and sixth nationally. She was also top-50 nationally in rebounds and blocked shots per game.
Before the SEC tournament, Boston was named SEC Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in conference history to win those two awards in the same year. She broke the program record for offensive rebounds and blocks by a freshman and had the fourth-highest field goal percentage in a season of any Gamecock, regardless of class.
A steady presence for Staley since taking over the starting point guard role as a freshman, Harris enjoyed the most prolific scoring season of her career as a senior, taking over in key moments and averaging 12 points per game. In games against top-10 opponents, she averaged 17 points a game, including a season-high 23 in USC’s tightest win of the season, an 81-79 nail-biter over Mississippi State.
Harris also averaged 5.7 assists per game, tops in the SEC and 12th in the country. Her assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.78 tied for ninth in the nation.
Throughout the course of the season, Harris hit a number of career milestones — surpassing 1,000 career points, breaking the program record for career assists, reaching 200 career steals and eventually hitting 700 career assists, putting her in the top 10 of SEC history. She is in the top 20 in program history for career points, assists and steals and the only Gamecock ever to record 1,000 points, 600 assists and 400 rebounds.
Harris was named an honorable mention for WBCA’s All-American team in each of the past two seasons, but this is her first AP All-American award. She was also named first-team All-SEC.
The Gamecocks finished 2019-20 at No. 1 in both the coaches and AP polls, released this week after the spread of the novel coronavirus forced the NCAA to cancel all winter and spring championships. South Carolina went 32-1 for the nation’s top winning percentage and won its final 26 games in a row. The NCAA has not said whether it will recognize any national champion this season.
But USC might be in line for still more honors — the AP is set to announce its picks for National Player of the Year and Coach of the Year next Tuesday, and Staley is one of the favorites for the coaching award. In addition, Harris and Boston are finalists for the Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie Awards, respectively, given to the nation’s best point guard and center.
Staley is also a finalist for Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year. The winner will be announced April 3.
AP ALL-AMERICANS
First team
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon, guard
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky, guard
Ruthy Hebard, Oregon, forward
Megan Walker, UConn, forward
Lauren Cox, Baylor, forward
Second team
Aari McDonald, Arizona, guard
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M, guard
Dana Evans, Louisville, guard
Satou Sabally, Oregon, forward
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina, forward
Third team
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina, guard
Kathleen Doyle, Iowa, guard
Kaila Charles, Maryland, guard
Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA, forward
Elissa Cunane, NC State, center
Honorable mentions
Jaylyn Agnew, Creighton; Bella Alarie, Princeton; Te’a Cooper, Baylor; Crystal Dangerfield, UConn; Rennia Davis, Tennessee; Ciara Duffy, South Dakota; Haley Gorecki, Duke; Vivian Gray, Oklahoma State; Arella Guirantes, Rutgers; Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Stella Johnson, Rider; Ila Lane, UC Santa Barbara; Beatrice Mompremier, Miami; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn ;Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State; Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern; NaLyssa Smith, Baylor; Chante Stonewall, DePaul; Unique Thompson, Auburn; Kiana Williams, Stanford
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
