Gamecock Trio on Player of the Year Watch Lists

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 1/1 South Carolina women’s basketball veterans Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson earned spots on multiple national player of the year watch lists announced today. The Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award preseason watch lists featured all three Gamecocks, while Boston and Cooke also appeared on the Wade Watch List.
 
The USA Today Preseason Player of the Year, Boston’s appearance on watch lists and as a finalist for all three awards is nothing new for the junior forward who is a two-time Lisa Leslie Center Award winner and unanimous 2021 First-Team All-American. She averages a career double-double overall (13.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg), in SEC games (13.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg) and in 28 games against ranked opponents (13.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg). The only player named a finalist for both the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year last season, Boston was 13th in the NCAA in rebounding average (11.5), 18th in blocks per game (2.6) and fifth in double-doubles (17). Boston already ranks eighth in program history in career double-doubles (30) and fifth in blocked shots (167). Her 16 career double-doubles in SEC play are third-best in program history.
 
Cooke is also becoming a regular in the conversation about the best players in the country, and she opens her third season in Garnet and Black with Preseason All-America and All-SEC honors. Cooke spent the last two seasons ranked among the Gamecocks’ leading scorers, including last season atop the team with 15.9 points per game.  That number jumped to 16.1 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, helping South Carolina to a Final Four berth and herself to NCAA Hemisfair Region Most Outstanding Player status. With 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range against Stanford, Cooke was also on the Final Four All-Tournament Team. She scored in double figures in 27 of the team’s 31 games, including six 20-point outings.
 
Henderson is the newcomer to this level of attention, but her play last season, especially in the NCAA Final Four, brought her to the nation’s attention. She led the SEC and ranked 36th in the nation in assists per game last season (5.1), a number that went up to 5.6 per game in SEC action. The floor general also ranked third on the team in scoring at a career-high 12.2 points per game. Her 22 double-digit scoring games included two 20-point outings and her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists against No. 15/16 Arkansas on Jan. 18, 2021. She handed out five or more assists 17 times in 31 games and finished the season with a 1.78 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks eighth in program history.
 
The No. 1/1 Gamecocks officially open the season tonight at No. 5/4 NC State. Tipoff on ESPN is set for 5 p.m.
 
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball season.