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Aliyah Boston

  • position Forward
  • height 6-5
  • class Senior
  • Hometown St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
  • High school Worcester (Mass.) Academy
  • position Forward
  • height 6-5
  • class Senior
  • Hometown St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
  • High school Worcester (Mass.) Academy

Aliyah Boston Bio

Awards Records Bio

Awards

At South Carolina

Honda Cup Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (2022)
SEC Female Athlete of the Year (2022)
2x National Player of the Year (2022 unanimous; 2021 The Athletic)
3x First-Team All-America (2021 unanimous; 2022 unanimous; 2023 unanimous)
Second-Team All-America (2020 AP, USBWA)
4x Lisa Leslie Center of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022)
2x Naismith Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023)
2x SEC Player of the Year (2022, 2023)
4x SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2020, 2021 (co), 2022, 2023)
4x All-SEC First Team (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
National Freshman of the Year (2020 ESPN, USBWA, WBCA)
SEC Freshman of the Year (2020)
4x SEC All-Defensive Team (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
SEC All-Freshman Team (2020)
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2022)
2x NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player (2022 Greensboro; 2023 Greenville 1)
NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2022)
3x NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2021 Hemisfair; 2022 Greensboro; 2023 Greenville 1)
2x SEC Tournament MVP (2021, 2023)
3x SEC All-Tournament Team (2021, 2022, 2023)
CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year (2022)
2x CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year (2021, 2022)
3x CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-America First Team (2021, 2022, 2023)
4x SEC Academic Honor Roll (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

In High School
WBCA, McDonald’s, SLAM All-America (2019)
Naismith Second Team (2019)
USA Today Massachusetts Player of the Year (2019)
Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year (2017, 2018, 2019)

With USA Basketball
2022 FIBA World Cup Training Camp
2021 FIBA AmeriCup, gold medal
2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, gold medal
2018 Youth Olympic Games 3×3, gold medal
2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, gold medal
2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, All-Star Five
2017 FIBA U16 Americas Cup, gold medal
2017 FIBA U16 Americas Cup, MVP

South Carolina Record Book

Career

1st – Rebounds in a career (1,493)
3rd – Rebounding average in a career (10.8)
5th – Points in a career (1,942)
1st – Offensive rebounds in a career (518)
1st – Defensive rebounds in a career (975)
1st – Triple-doubles in a career (2)*
1st – Double-doubles in a career (82)
2nd – Blocked shots in a career (330)
2nd – Blocked shots average in a career (2.4)
1st – Games started in a career (138)
1st – Consecutive games started (138, 11/5/19-3/31/23)
1st – Double-doubles in career SEC games (42)
1st – Rebounds in career SEC games (729)
1st – Rebounding average in career SEC games (11.4)
3rd – Points in career SEC games (898)
1st – Offensive rebounds in career SEC games (244)
1st – Defensive rebounds in career SEC games (485)
1st – Blocked shots in career SEC games (165)
2nd – Blocked shots average in career SEC games (2.6)
1st – SEC games started in a career (64)
3rd – SEC games played in a career (64)

Most rebounds in career NCAA Tournament games (199)
Best rebounding average in career NCAA Tournament games (12.4)
Most offensive rebounds in career NCAA Tournament games (70)

 

Season
1st –Rebounds in a season (462 in 2021-22)
1st – Offensive rebounds in a season (150 in 2021-22)
5th – Offensive rebounds in a season (127 in 2020-21)
1st – Defensive rebounds in a season (312 in 2021-22)
4th – Defensive rebounds in a season (240 in 2022-23))
5th – Defensive rebounds in a season (230 in 2020-21)
1st – Double-doubles in a season (30 in 2021-22)
5th – Double-doubles in a season (22 in 2022-23)
1st – Consecutive double-doubles in a season (27 in 2021-22)*
3rd – Rebounding average in a season (12.5 in 2021-22)
3rd – Blocked shots in a season (90 in 2021-22)
5th – Blocked shots in a season (86 in 2019-20)
3rd – Blocked shots average in a season (2.6 in 2020-21)
4th – Blocked shots average in a season (2.6 in 2019-20)
4th – Field goal percentage in a season (.608 (174-286) in 2019-20)
1st – Games played in a season (37 in 2021-22 and in 2022-23)
1st – Games started in a season (37 in 2021-22 and in 2022-23)
1st – Rebounds in a season of SEC games (212 in 2021-22)
2nd – Rebounds in a season of SEC games (196 in 2020-21)
1st – Rebounding average in a season of SEC games (13.3 in 2021-22)
3rd – Rebounding average in a season of SEC games (12.3 in 2020-21)
1st – Offensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (69 in 2021-22)
2nd – Offensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (62 in 2020-21)
3rd – Offensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (57 in 2022-23)
4th – Offensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (56 in 2019-20)
1st – Defensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (143 in 2021-22)
3rd – Defensive rebounds in a season of SEC games (134 in 2020-21)
1st – Double-doubles in a season of SEC games (16 in 2021-22)
2nd – Double-doubles in a season of SEC games (10 in 2022-23)
1st – Blocked shots in a season of SEC games (57 in 2020-21)

Game
1st – Field goal percentage in a game (1.000 (13-13) vs. NC A&T, 11/29/21)
1st – Offensive rebounds in a game (12 vs. North Carolina, 3/24/22)
1st – Blocked shots in a game (10 vs. Alabama State, 11/5/19; 10 vs. Georgia, 1/21/21)
1st – Blocked shots in an SEC game (10 vs. Georgia, 1/21/21)
1st – Offensive rebounds in an SEC game (10 vs. Arkansas, 1/9/20)

* indicates also an SEC record

Career Summary

  • Most decorated player in program history – program’s first National Freshman of the Year (2020), National Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023), Honda Cup winner (2022), Academic All-America Team Member of the Year (2022) and Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year (2021, 2022) and its second to sweep the National Player of the Year awards (2022)
  • Just the fifth player in AP All-America history to earn the honor all four years of her career; just the 10th player to earn first-team honors three times
  • First player in SEC history to be the league’s Defensive Player of the Year four times
  • Holds the SEC record with 15 career weekly honors and 10 career player of the week recognitions
  • Regular starter all four years of her career, helping team to three SEC Regular-Season championships, three SEC Tournament titles and three NCAA Final Four showings, including the 2022 National Championship … team record of 129-9 during her career, including a 45-7 mark against nationally ranked opponents … ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for 38 straight weeks, the second-longest streak in the history of that poll … lost just three SEC regular-season games in four seasons
  • In 2021-22 season, part of first team in program history to be ranked No 1 in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches’ Polls every week of the season … group went on to become just third program to hold No. 1 spot in the AP Poll in back-to-back seasons
  • Holds 14 program career records, 14 program season records and five program single-game records
  • Ranks 15th in NCAA history and fourth in SEC history with 1,493 career rebounds
  • Ranks eighth in NCAA history and second in SEC history with 82 career double-doubles
  • Ranks sixth in NCAA history with an SEC-record 27 consecutive double-doubles
  • Tied for the SEC record with two triple-doubles and ranks sixth all-time in career blocks (330)
  • Is just the fifth Gamecock to record at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds … hit both marks as a junior (2021-22)
  • In 52 career games against ranked opponents, averaged 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks
  • In 16 career NCAA Tournament games, averaged 14.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks
  • Scored in double figures 115 times in her 138 career games (.833), hit double-digit rebounds 93 times (.674), led or tied for the team lead in rebounding 100 times
  • No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, taken by the Indiana Fever

Bio Information

Senior Year (2022-23)

  • Helped team to program-record 36 wins, including perfect 16-0 slate in SEC action, seven wins over ranked opponents, an SEC Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Final Four for the third-straight season
  • Part of team that set program records for points scored, rebounds and rebounding margin in addition to an NCAA record for blocked shots per gam
  • Repeated as unanimous First-Team All-American, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, Lisa Leslie Award winner, SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year
  • Finished season ranked eighth in the NCAA in double-doubles (22), 25th in field goal percentage (.559) and 26th in rebounds per game (9.84) and blocks per game (1.97)
  • Ranked in SEC’s top three in double-doubles- (2nd), field goal percentage (2nd), rebounding average (2nd), blocks per game (3rd) and offensive rebounds per game (3rd)
  • According to Her Hoop Stats, was the only player in the top six in both offensive and defensive player ratings, leading the SEC and all national player of the year candidates in both
  • Led team with 30 double-figure scoring games and 24 games of 10 or more rebounds
  • Averaged 11.2 points and 10.8 rebounds in NCAA Tournament, earning all-tournament honors in the regional and Final Four, including Greensboro 1 Regional MVP recognition
  • Set the tone in the NCAA Elite Eight against #14/15 Maryland (Mar. 27) early with six points in the game’s first five minutes and provided steady offense and big rebounds to finish with her 22nd double-double of the season
  • Named SEC Tournament MVP averaging a near double-double with 13.0 points and 9.3 rebounds along with 2.0 blocks per game
  • Scored 10 of the Gamecocks’ first 17 points in the SEC title game against Tennessee (Mar. 5), to finish the day with 18 points and going a perfect 6-of-6 behind the free throw line
  • Secured her 80th career double-double against Ole Miss (Mar. 4) and moved into the program’s No. 1 spot for career rebounds
  • Punctuated the historic win over Georgia (Feb. 26) with 11 points in the first quarter and 10 in the fourth en route to 25 points and 11 rebounds, moving into a tie for second in the SEC  and 10th in the NCAA record books with her 78th career double-double
  • Grabbed seven of her 12 rebounds at Ole Miss (Feb. 19) in the fourth quarter, during which she also hit the game-tying free throw to force overtime
  • Scored her 11th consecutive double-figure game against #3/2 LSU (Feb. 12), putting up 14 points and nine rebounds in addition to a team-high three blocks along the way
  • Put up 23 of her season-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes at #5/4 UConn (Feb. 5), shooting 8-of-11 from the field … went on her own 9-3 run in the fourth quarter to give the Gamecocks the largest lead of the game at 12 with two minutes remaining
  • Scored on a putback to end a 7-0 Kentucky (Feb. 2) run that opened the third quarter and went on to add four more points to hold off a Wildcat run en route to her 15th double-double (14 pts/14 rebs) off the season
  • Tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds against Arkansas (Jan. 22) to break the program record with her 73rd career double-double, hitting the mark midway through the third quarter
  • Was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field at Vanderbilt (Jan. 19) en route to tying the program record with her 72nd career double-double
  • Grabbed second SEC Player of the Week nod of the season after back-to-back 20-point outings against Missouri (Jan. 15) and at Kentucky (Jan. 12)
  • Added 10 points to 21-2 run to end first half and start the second against Missouri (Jan. 15) en route to 20 points on the night, eight of which came off her own six offensive rebounds
  • Scored six of team’s first eight points at Kentucky (Jan. 12) and was in double figures by the end of the first quarter en route to her first 20-point game and 10th double-double of the season with team-high marks of 21 points and 11 boards
  • Grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds at Mississippi State (Jan. 8), including seven in the first half … finished with her ninth double-double of the season and broke the program record for career rebounds in SEC regular-season action
  • Claimed the program record for offensive rebounds in career SEC games (193) with three at Georgia (Jan. 2)
  • Finished in double digits for the ninth time this season against South Dakota State (Dec. 15), putting up eight of her 12 points in the second quarter and seven of her nine total rebounds in the final half
  • Recorded nearly her entire double-double against #15/17 UCLA (Nov. 29) in the second half as her 12 points and eight boards in the final 20 minutes helped power the Gamecocks’ comeback, including 8-of-10 free throw shooting in the fourth quarter
  • Grabbed seven of her 13 rebounds at #2/2 Stanford (Nov. 20) in the fourth quarter and netted all four of her fourth-quarter points in the final 1:44, including the game-tying basket with two seconds to play … in overtime, scored inside to twice give team a one-point lead and passed out of a double-team to find Bree Hall for a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with 41 seconds to play
  • Scored eight of the team’s 19 first-quarter points at #17/18 Maryland (Nov. 11) on 4-of-4 shooting and finished with her second double-double in as many games

Junior Year (2021-22)

  • Became the University’s first Honda Cup Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year
  • Swept the national player of the year awards, including becoming the first player, male or female, to win both the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year; also claimed the Honda Cup as Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and SEC Roy F. Kramer Female Athlete of the Year; and repeated as CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year
  • Part of first team in program history to be ranked No 1 in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches’ Polls every week of the season and program’s second National Championship
  • Team posted program-record 14 wins over ranked opponents and claimed the SEC Regular-Season title
  • Led the nation with a program-record 30 double-doubles, including an SEC-record 27-game streak
  • Ranked fourth in the nation in rebounds per game
  • Averaged a double-double (18.1 pts, 13.9 rebs) along with 39 blocks in the team’s 14 games against ranked opponents as well as in SEC play (16.6 pts, 13.3 rebs)
  • Named NCAA Women’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player behind 17.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in Minneapolis
  • Nearly had her second 20-20 NCAA Tournament game against #4/4 Louisville (Apr. 1), turning in a second-half double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the final 20 minutes alone
  • Had an iconic performance in NCAA Sweet 16 win over #17/18 North Carolina (Mar. 25), scoring all 13 of the team’s fourth-quarter points, including four second-chance points and seven free throws in the period, en route to becoming just the fourth player since 2000 with 20 points and 20 rebounds in the Sweet 16 or later … 12 offensive rebounds tied the program record for most in a single game
  • Another dominant night on the boards at Ole Miss (Feb. 28) pushed her past 1,000 career rebounds, reaching the milestone faster than the other four women in program history who have hit that mark
  • Broke the SEC record with her 20th consecutive double-double in the win at Texas A&M (Feb. 24), highlighted by nine points in the third quarter
  • Secured her 10th double-double in a row in her first 13 minutes on the floor vs. Texas A&M (Jan. 13); the double-double streak breaks a program record last set in 1978 … she accounted for 15 of the team’s 26 points and 10 of the 24 team rebounds in the first half
  • Stepped up in the second half of the win vs. #8/7 Maryland (Dec. 12), recording 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in the final 20 minutes of the win, including two points, three rebounds and a steal in the final 9-3 surge that sealed the win
  • Voted a team captain for second-straight season

Sophomore Year (2020-21)

  • Picked up National Player of the Year honors from The Athletic and was a unanimous First-Team All-American
  • Collected her second Lisa Leslie Award in as many seasons; also repeated as SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC First Team
  • Was the only player in the country named a finalist for both the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year
  • Became program’s first CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year
  • Part of team that claimed its second-straight SEC Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2017
  • Ranked 13th in the NCAA in rebounding average (11.5), second in the SEC … 18th in NCAA with 2.6 blocks per game, third in the SEC, and fifth in NCAA in double-doubles (17) … ranked second in the SEC and 16th in the country in offensive rebounding (4.1) … 21st in the SEC in scoring
  • Finished conference play second in rebounding (12.3), first in blocks (3.6), second in offensive rebounds (3.9), fifth in field goal percentage (.503)
  • Averaging a double-double through 14 games against ranked opponents (14.4 ppg / 12.1 rpg)
  • Named SEC Tournament MVP after three straight double-doubles in the event, during which she averaged 19.3 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 59.4 percent from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range
  • Powered the Gamecocks to the SEC Tournament title over #16/21 Georgia (Mar. 7) with evenly distributed 27 points, including the game-sealing free throws with 13 seconds left
  • Moved into 10th place in program history with her 11-point 11-rebound double-double at #3/3 Texas A&M (Feb. 28), giving her 25 double doubles in her career
  • Made history against #22/23 Georgia (Jan. 21), notching the program’s first triple-double in SEC play with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks, the second triple-double of her career
  • Came out hot against #15/16 Arkansas (Jan. 18) with six points, six rebounds and three blocks in the game’s opening five minutes … added five points to a 9-0 run late in the third that established a double-digit lead
  • Scored a career-best 28 points against Florida (Dec. 31), including a 19-point and 11-rebound first half where she became the 11th fastest Gamecock to score 500 points in her career … scored eight points in the paint, eight on midrange jumpers, nine from 3-point range and three free throws
  • Voted a team captain

Freshman Year (2019-20)

  • Became program’s first National Freshman of the Year, earning the award from every organization that bestowed it
  • Part of first team in program history to end the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, claiming that spot in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches’ Poll
  • Helped team to SEC Regular-Season and Tournament crowns before seeing the COVID-19 pandemic cancel the NCAA Tournament … won all 16 SEC regular-season games
  • Tied school record for blocks in a game and set record for offensive rebounds vs. an SEC opponent and single-season offensive rebounds in SEC games
  • Resent seven program freshman season records and four freshman single-game records
  • Sixth in the nation in field goal percentage and 21st in blocks per game – first and second in the SEC, respectively
  • 22nd in SEC in scoring, third in rebounding (best among freshmen), fourth in offensive rebounds (3.5)
  • Averaged a double-double against SEC foes (13.1 ppg/10.3 rpg) and ranked teams (13.0 ppg/10.9 rpg)
  • Earned her program freshman-record 13th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds against #25/- Arkansas (March 7
  • Earned first career SEC double-double (17 pts/12 rebs) at Alabama (Jan. 5) with four of the team’s first six points
  • Notched 10 of her 20 points and six of her 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter against #2/2 Baylor (Nov. 30) to clinch Paradise Jam Reef Division MVP honors
  • Posted first triple-double by a freshman in program history and the first by any NCAA Div. I player in her career debut against Alabama State (Nov. 5), including a school-record tying 10 blocks

High School

  • Ranked No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2019 and the top post player in the class
  • Earned consensus All-America selection after her senior season (2018-19), during which she averaged 17.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks
  • Captured Massachusetts Player of the Year honors from Gatorade (2017, 2018, 2019) and USA Today (2019)
  • Played in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic (2019)
  • Named NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year (2018, 2019) and a NEPSAC Class A All-Star in 2017
  • Helped Worcester Academy to 24-1 record and second-straight New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A championship in 2018-19
  • Averaged 21.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 6.2 blocks as a junior (2017-18) after starting and recording a double-double in all 22 games her sophomore season (2016-17)
  • Has earned four gold medals with USA Basketball and was named MVP of the 2017 FIBA U16 Americas Cup after leading team with 11.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game

Personal

  • Daughter of Cleone and Al Boston … has an older sister, Alexis
  • Majoring in mass communications

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