South Carolina women's basketball: Aliyah Boston and Dawn Staley sweep the Naismith Trophy awards

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South Carolina women’s basketball won all three Naismith Trophy awards, it was announced at a ceremony Wednesday. Aliyah Boston won national player of the year and defensive player of the year, while Dawn Staley was named coach of the year.

Boston is the first player to win both awards in the same season and is the only player to be named a finalist for both awards in the same season, something she first accomplished last year.

Boston beat out finalists Caitlin Clark, NaLyssa Smith, and Haley Jones for Player of the Year. She beat Cameron Brink, Veronica Burton, and Lorela Cubaj for Defensive Player of the Year. It is the first major national player of the year award for Boston, the second Gamecock to win the award after A’ja Wilson.

Staley was a two-time winner as a player and has won the award in two of the last three seasons. She beat out Kim Mulkey, Wes Moore, and Tara VanDerveer. Staley also won SEC Coach of the Year. Also on Wednesday, Staley was named the USBWA Coach of the Year.

Boston’s junior season is one of the best in program history. She averaged 16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.9 assists per game. Boston shot 54.2% from the floor and 77.4% from the line, while hitting a career-high 28.3% from three, enough to force opponents to respect her range.

Boston has had several signature games. She had 22 points and 15 rebounds and South Carolina won going away in a 1 vs 2 game against UConn as South Carolina that had so much hype that the AP delayed releasing its poll. A week later Boston shot a perfect 13-13 and scored a career-high 29 points in just 21 minutes against NC A&T. She had 16 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks against Maryland. Boston had one of the greatest games in program history in the Sweet 16, when she had 28 points, 22 rebounds, and three blocks and scored all 13 of South Carolina’s fourth quarter.

But the defining aspect of Boston’s season is her 27-game streak of consecutive double-doubles. She shattered the school record, broke the SEC record, and was the fifth-longest streak in history. Boston leads the nation in double-doubles with 28, which is the sixth-most ever, and is six rebounds away from tying the school record for rebounds in a season. 

Boston has blocked a career-high 87 shots this season and anchors a defense that leads the nation in field goal percentage defense and has held 45 consecutive opponents below their scoring average and set records for tournament scoring defense. Boston is capable of defending posts or guards, and her pick-and-roll defense forces countless turnovers.

Boston broke the South Carolina women’s basketball program record for rebounds in a tournament game against North Carolina, and has already broken her own record for rebounds in a single tournament. If her career ended today she would set a new record for rebound average in tournament games.

Boston was already named SEC Player of the Year and captured her third consecutive SEC Defensive Player of the Year. She is an AP All-American.

The Naismith Trophy is one of the three major national player of the year awards in women’s college basketball. The other two are the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy. The Wade Award will be announced Thursday afternoon. The Wooden Award will be announced following the Final Four. Boston is a finalist for both awards.

Turning to other player of the year awards, Boston was already named The Athletic’s national player of the year for the second consecutive season. The AP player of the year award will be announced Thursday prior to the Wade Trophy announcement.

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