Boston Completes Sweep with Wooden Award
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior Aliyah Boston completed her sweep of national player of the year honors with her selection as the Wooden Award winner, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on ESPN’s SportsCenter. The 6-foot-5 post player gathered every player of the year award issued last week in addition to helping the Gamecocks to the 2022 NCAA National Championship.
The unanimous national player of the year was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, and Boston won both titles from the SEC as well. A three-time Lisa Leslie Award winner, the Gamecocks’ leading scorer (16.8 ppg) led the nation with 30 double-doubles this season, including an SEC-record 27 straight to become just the third player in NCAA Div. I women’s basketball history with a streak at least that long. Her 12.5 rebounds per game were fourth in the nation.
In the Gamecocks’ 14 games against ranked opponents, including seven against top-10 foes, Boston poured in 18.1 points per game and grabbed 13.9 rebounds per outing. In just her second NCAA Tournament, she was named Most Outstanding Player at both the Greensboro Regional and the Final Four after averaging 16.8 points and 15.2 rebounds in the tournament, during which she also led the team in assists.
Aside from Boston’s raw stats, her in-depth analytics better illustrate her dominance on both ends of the court. Her 16.9 win shares leads the country, and she is the only player ranked in the top 20 in both offensive and defensive win shares.
Boston is the second Gamecock all-time to win the Wooden Award, joining A’ja Wilson, who also swept the awards in 2017-18.
South Carolina capped it’s 2022 National Championship season with a program-record 35 victories. It is the Gamecocks’ second title in the last six seasons.
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.