Boston, Harris Named to AP All-America Teams
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball added two more All-Americans to its all-time roster as the Associated Press named freshman Aliyah Boston to its All-America Second Team and senior Tyasha Harris to its third team. They are the seventh and eighth Gamecocks all-time to be on one of the AP’s All-America teams, and Boston is just the second Gamecock freshman to earn a spot (A’ja Wilson, 2015, 3rd team).
The SEC Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, Boston powered her way onto the national stage in her college debut, becoming the first in NCAA Div. I women’s basketball history to post a triple-double in her first career game. She did not let up after that, posting 13 double-doubles, including seven against ranked opponents. Averaging 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds on the season, she routinely lifted her game in the big moments to average a double-double against SEC teams (13.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and against ranked opponents (13.0 ppg, 10.9 rpg). The All-SEC First-Team selection and Lisa Leslie Award finalist was a force on both sides of the ball, ranking sixth in the nation in field goal percentage (.608) and 21st in blocks per game (2.61).
Harris picked up All-SEC First-Team honors and a spot on the SEC All-Tournament team after guiding the Gamecocks to the second SEC Regular-Season Championship and third SEC Tournament crown of her career. Her steady leadership included a career-high 12.0 points per game, an SEC-best 5.7 assists per game, which ranked 12th in the country this season, and the nation’s 10th-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.78. Harris’ assist numbers climbed both in SEC games (5.9 apg) and against ranked opponents (6.4 apg). Between her own scoring and points off her assists, the senior had her hands on 30.7 percent of the Gamecocks’ total offense with that number jumping to 34.9 percent in 14 games against ranked opponents.
No. 1/1 South Carolina finished its season on a school-record 26-game win streak to finish the season 32-1 for its fourth 30-win season under head coach Dawn Staley.
AP All-America First Team
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Ruthy Hebard, Oregon
Laruen Cox, Baylor
Megan Walker, UConn
AP All-America Second Team
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
Satou Sabally, Oregon
Aari McDonald, Arizona
Dana Evans, Louisville
AP All-America Third Team
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA
Kathleen Doyle, Iowa
Elissa Cunane, NC State
Kaila Charles, Maryland
