One of the best: Gamecocks’ Aliyah Boston named first team All-American
South Carolina women’s basketball star Aliyah Boston added yet another accolade to her impressive collection Wednesday, getting named a first team All-American by the Associated Press.
Boston, a sophomore forward, has already been named the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year, first-team all-SEC and the SEC tournament Most Outstanding Player.
She was also named to ESPN.com’s All-America list earlier this week and is a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center.
Coming off a historic freshman season in which she took the sport by storm, Boston has upped her production in her second year, increasing her minutes, scoring, rebounding, assists and blocked shots. She’s currently averaging a double-double with 13.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, along with 2.9 blocks, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals.
Against Georgia in January, Boston became the first Gamecock to record a triple-double in SEC play and the first to have multiple triple-doubles in her career, putting up 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Boston was once again dominant against Georgia in the SEC tournament title game on March 7, tallying 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead South Carolina to its sixth tournament title in seven seasons.
The Gamecocks were named a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament this Monday and will open their bid for a Final Four and national championship on Sunday against Mercer.
As a freshman, Boston brought in an impressive awards haul, including National Freshman of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, second-team All-American, first-team all-SEC and the Lisa Leslie Award.
AP ALL-AMERICANS
First Team
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Dana Evans, Louisville
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
Second Team
Elissa Cunane, NC State
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Aari McDonald, Arizona
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Charli Collier, Texas
Third Team
Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State
Ashley Owusu, Maryland
Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA
Kiana Williams, Stanford
Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas
Honorable Mention: Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast; Katie Benzan, Maryland; Jakia Brown-Turner, NC State; Rennia Davis, Tennessee; Kysre Gondrezick, West Virginia; Arella Guirantes, Rutgers; Lauren Gustin, BYU; Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana; Cece Hooks, Ohio; Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Haley Jones, Stanford; N’dea Jones, Texas AM; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn; Aisha Shepherd, Virginia Tech; Jill Townsend, Gonzaga; Christyn Williams, UConn; Aaliyah Wilson, Texas A&M; Jenn Wirth, Gonzaga.
NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME
What: NCAA tournament first round
Who: No. 1 seed South Carolina vs. No. 16 seed Mercer
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: San Antonio, Texas
Watch: ESPN
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 12:07 PM.
