No. 4 South Carolina used a triple-double from Aliyah Boston, and mounted a dominant defensive effort for a 62-50 victory over No. 22 Georgia on Thursday night at the Colonial Life Arena, in a game that was rescheduled for January 7 Below are my main conclusions from this SEC tender.
Boston makes history
South Carolina’s All-American lived up to its reputation on Thursday night and, in the process, became the first player in the program’s history to register several trebles and a treble in a SEC contest. Boston finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. Last season, Boston became the first player in NCAA history to record a triple-double in his first career game against the state of Alabama. In that game, the 6’5 post had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.
After a slower-than-expected start, Boston has fixed the problem and is performing in the dominant manner that was expected after she was named national freshman of the year in 2020, and was a key ingredient in the No. 1 ranking team at Carolina who ended the season with a 26-game winning streak, including 19 consecutive SEC wins.
In the first six games of the 2020-21 season, Boston averaged 11.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, throwing 46% of the field. In the six games since then, all against the SEC competition, she averaged 17.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game, with a 52% field goal percentage.