Tag: Aliyah Boston

Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark wins Naismith Trophy fan vote

Iowa sophomore guard Caitlin Clark was the winner of the Naismith Trophy fan vote.

Iowa sophomore guard Caitlin Clark authored a historic season, averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. As a result, Clark was named one of the finalists for the Naismith Trophy.

While the Naismith Trophy was awarded to South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, Clark did win the fan vote. She joined Kansas men’s basketball junior guard Ochai Agbaji as players to win the Naismith Trophy fan vote this season. Texas Tech head men’s basketball coach Mark Adams and South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley were the two coaches that took home the most Naismith Trophy fan votes.

Clark was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and earned unanimous first team All-Big Ten honors for her standout sophomore season. She earned national player of the week honors four times this season: twice by the USBWA (Jan. 18 and March 1), by Naismith on Jan. 25 and by ESPN on Feb. 7.

Clark led the nation in points per game and finished with the most total points of any player with 863 this past season. She also led the nation in assists per game and total assists with 257.

Clark recorded back-to-back triple-doubles versus Nebraska on Jan. 16 and at Minnesota on Jan. 20. She became the 10th collegiate women’s basketball player to record back-to-back triple-doubles. On the season, Clark registered five triple-doubles.

Clark broke Iowa’s single-game assist record with 18 against Penn State on Jan. 25 and tied the Big Ten record for most assists against a Big Ten opponent. She also holds three women’s basketball arena scoring records: 39 points at Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena her freshman season, Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena with 44 points versus Evansville on Jan. 2 and Michigan’s Crisler Center with 46 points on Feb. 6.

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Dawn Staley, Aliyah Boston take home Coach of the Year and Player of the Year ahead of Friday’s Final Four

Dawn Staley and Aliyah Boston are big winners on Wednsday!

The Gamecocks had a few major wins on Wednesday.

Both standout center Aliyah Boston and head coach Dawn Staley received some recognition for their contributions to South Carolina’s 33-2 season.

Boston was named the 2022 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year after averaging 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds. Boston’s POTY campaign was not only highlighted by her SEC record-breaking 27 consecutive double-doubles but also her 2.5 blocks per game and effectiveness on the defensive end. So, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Boston also earned the 2022 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.

While Boston took home the on-the-court awards, Staley was there to grab the accolades that recognize those on the sideline. She was named the 2022 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year after leading the Gamecocks to the Final Four as they went through the entire season without relinquishing their No. 1 spot in the rankings.

The COTY award is her second.

Surely the 2022 award winners are thrilled to be recognized for their success. I’d bet there’s another honor that both Boston and Staley are greedy for — being crowned national champions.

The Gamecocks had the shortest championship odds (+162 at Tipico) entering the NCAA Tournament and remain the favorites to win it all.

Can they avenge their 2021 Final Four heartbreak?

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Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark named Naismith Trophy finalist

Caitlin Clark averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Now, she’s one of four Naismith Trophy finalists.

Iowa sophomore guard Caitlin Clark authored a season unlike any other in women’s college basketball history. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native led the nation in points and assists per game to become the first player to lead the country in both categories in a single season.

Clark averaged 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and 1.5 steals per game. Her 863 total points, 200 free throws made and 257 total assists this season were all tops nationally. The 6-foot guard also led the nation in triple-doubles with five and 30-point games with 11.

Now, Clark has been named one of four Naismith Trophy finalists. She joins South Carolina junior forward Aliyah Boston, Stanford junior guard Haley Jones and Baylor senior forward NaLyssa Smith as one of the finalists. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding women’s college basketball player.

Clark earned Big Ten Player of the Year status after a season filled with milestones. In January, Clark recorded back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles versus Nebraska and Minnesota. She scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists versus the Cornhuskers on Jan. 16 in Iowa’s 93-83 win over the Cornhuskers before dropping 35 points, collecting 13 rebounds and assisting 11 times at Minnesota in the Hawkeyes’ 105-49 Jan. 20 triumph over the Gophers.

In the process, Clark joined Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, James Harden, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only NBA, WNBA, or Division I men’s or women’s basketball players to register back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles. Clark is the only NCAA player to ever record back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles and one of 10 women’s basketball players to register back-to-back triple-doubles in their careers.

In early January, Clark broke the 1,000-career points barrier in a 93-56 win over Evansville in which she scored 44 points. Clark also became the fastest Division I player to reach 1,500 career points over the last 20 seasons, eclipsing that mark with 32 points in the Hawkeyes’ 87-78 win at Rutgers on Feb. 24.

She was also named Big Ten Tournament MVP after averaging 26 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in Iowa’s wins over Northwestern, Nebraska and Indiana. Clark was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection, was named a Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year finalist, Dawn Staley Award finalist, a WBCA Wade Trophy midseason watch list member and John R. Wooden Award national ballot top-15 selection.

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South Carolina heartbreakingly missed a trip to the women’s tournament final by inches in a crazy end sequence

The agony of defeat.

There’s nothing like the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat. South Carolina found out firsthand the hard heartbreak of a crushing loss on Friday in the women’s NCAA Final Four against Stanford.

The Cardinal beat the Gamecocks 66-65 after a chaotic last few moments of play. While the lead changed hands a few times in the last three minutes, the Cardinal held possession — and the lead — in the final 10 seconds of the game, before turning the ball over to the Gamecocks in the midst of a scramble.

It seemed South Carolina had a clear path to daylight, with not one but two chances to sink the ball to take the lead and the last second victory. Sadly, it was not to be, as both the initial layup by Brea Beal and the putback attempt by Aliyah Boston fell just short as the buzzer sounded.

The reactions at the end, especially by Boston, really say it all as Stanford advanced to its first championship since 2009-10 at the expense of South Carolina heartbreak.

The support for the Boston and the Gamecocks came pouring in on social media mere moments after that final buzzer.

While the Gamecocks will be heading home, Boston and her teammates got some major support from their Cardinal competitors after the game, with hugs and words of support all around.

Stanford will face the winner of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 3 Arizona in the tournament final on Sunday, April 4 at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

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