Aliyah Boston Photo Credit: SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
Virgin Islander Aliyah Boston and the South Carolina Gamecocks will be among the last 16 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament after defeating the University of Miami 49-33 in a defensive battle on Sunday afternoon. Boston recorded her 26th straight double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
After the first quarter, South Carolina led 10-7 but held Miami to just three points in the second quarter to gain a 23-10 halftime lead. Miami did not cut the deficit to single digits for the rest of the contest.
South Carolina prevented Miami from scoring for about eight minutes from their last points in the first quarter to their first points in the second quarter.
Boston was interviewed after the game by ESPN and was asked how South Carolina was able to handle Miami’s tough defense. "We just took it quarter by quarter. They were very aggressive from the jump but we knew that we just had to continue to play our game," she said.
Boston was also asked about her impact on the outcome despite struggling to score throughout the game. “ I just tried to put my energy into something else," she responded. "My teammates did a great job knocking down shots and continued to put the pressure on Miami; I'm just really proud of them.”
Boston shot an uncharacteristic 4-15 in the game.
The reporter then asked Boston what she needs to see happen in the later rounds of the tournament. “I think our defense is unbelievable. I think we are doing a great job of rebounding, we just got to continue to keep that up because it is only going to get tougher from here.”
When asked what the team’s ultimate goal was, Boston simply said, “National Championship and we are on that path.”
South Carolina’s next match-up will be on Friday against the winner of the game between Arizona and North Carolina on Monday night. The time and television station will be announced on Tuesday and the game will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.
Arizona won the Island Division in the most recent season’s Paradise Jam hosted at the University of the Virgin Islands in November.
Elsewhere, in a surprise upset the No. 2 seeded team in South Carolina’s region, Iowa, lost on Sunday, meaning they will play the winner of Creighton and Iowa State on Sunday if they are able to win their next game.
Creighton defeated Iowa 64-62 and are the lowest seeded team still left in the Women’s NCAA field.
