Virgin Islands native Aliyah Boston will have an opportunity to break the Southeastern Conference record for most consecutive double-doubles on Thursday. By. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS
Virgin Islands native Aliyah Boston tied the Southeastern Conference record for most consecutive double-doubles with her 19 straight double-double on Sunday afternoon in No. 1 South Carolina’s 67-53 win over No. 12 Tennessee.
The St. Thomas native, who earlier this week was called the “face of women’s college basketball” by Sports Illustrated and joined Klutch Sports Group, had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
Boston scored her 10th point with a lay-up about three minutes into the second half and secured her 10th rebound with about four and a half minutes left in the third quarter to secure her 19th straight double-double.
Before the game, Boston spoke with ESPN College Gameday and said, “I just try to do what my teammates need me to do, and that’s be dominant” when asked about chasing the double-double record.
ESPN Gameday featured a video on its social media platforms with Boston that highlighted her Virgin Islands roots.
The narrator of the video said Aliyah returns home to the island at least once a year, not only to see family and friends, but to feed her soul and to reconnect to where her journey began.
Boston ends the video by stating, “Everyone knows that I left here when I was young to be a successful basketball player, but I want to show them that all of this was so that I can continue to make them proud.”
The win on Sunday earned the Gamecocks the No. 1 seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament that will begin on March 2, and at least a share of the SEC regular season title.
According to Mike Uva, director of Digital Content for Gamecocks.com, when asked about tying the record, Boston said, “on to the next one.” She then thanked god and praised Sylvia Fowles, who set the current record.
Fowles was a 7-time WNBA All-Star and the league MVP in 2017.
Uva tweeted that Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper after the game said, “She's so good. She's so strong and mobile and skilled with great hands. She deserves every award she's gonna get.”
Uva also said that 18,000 people were in attendance at the stadium to witness Boston tie the record.
Boston will have an opportunity to break the record when South Carolina plays Texas A&M on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. AST on SEC Network.
