Dawn Staley, Aliyah Boston share heartfelt moment in postgame interview after Final Four
Last year, Dawn Staley and Aliyah Boston were in Dallas for the Final Four. Their South Carolina team entered with an undefeated record, but saw the season come to an end as Caitlin Clark and Iowa pulled off the upset to reach the national championship.
On Friday, for the second straight season, the Gamecocks went into the Final Four without a loss to their name. This time, though, Boston wasn’t in the starting lineup or on the bench. An up-and-coming media star, she was wearing a suit and holding a microphone while contributing to ESPN’s coverage. That gave her a front-row seat to watch Staley and South Carolina defeat NC State to advance to the national championship in Cleveland and avoid last year’s fate.
It also meant Boston got the postgame interview on ESPN. Although Boston wanted to know how much Staley yelled at halftime – she “absolutely” did, by the way – the coach turned the interview on its head.
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“Look, this is a proud moment. Just to be on the other side of this mic,” Staley said. “Proud of your professionalism, proud that you know the game so much that you are representing at the highest level. God is good to you.”
Boston again attempted to get the interview in Staley’s direction, this time asking about the excitement leading up to the championship game. She answered that question – and in the process, managed to praise Boston’s career in Columbia. Staley’s message heading into Sunday’s title game is that the Gamecocks are playing not just for themselves, but those who came before them.
That includes Boston and “The Freshies,” who all graduated last year.
The group – Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere and Olivia Thompson – came in together in 2019 as the highest-ranked recruiting class in the country and dominated from 2020-23. South Carolina went 129-9 overall and won the 2022 national championship during that time.
Rather than use their COVID-19 years, though, the group split after falling to Iowa in the 2023 Final Four. Staley remembered they didn’t end their careers on the right note and told Boston there’s a special plan in place if South Carolina can reach the mountaintop this weekend.
“This is the place we wanted to be,” Staley said. “We want to do it for you. We really want to take care of Sunday for you and the Freshies because you gave basketball everything you had. And you came up short your senior year. So hopefully, we can turn the tables and win it for you.
“And if we do, [the] Freshies will be getting their rings.”