Women's Fastbreak On SI

Aliyah Boston Shook Off South Carolina Loss in Exchange With Fever Teammate

Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston sent a clear message to a teammate after her alma mater South Carolina Gamecocks lost on Sunday.

Grant Young

Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) talks before shooting a free throw on Sunday June 16, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fever beat the Sky 91-83.
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) talks before shooting a free throw on Sunday June 16, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fever beat the Sky 91-83. / Jacob Musselman/ For IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The women's basketball community was thrown into shock on Sunday when the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks were defeated by the UCLA Bruins.

While there's no question that the No. 5 ranked UCLA team has one of college basketball's best rosters and boasts several WNBA-caliber players, few predicted that Dawn Staley's Gamecocks squad (who had won 43 straight games before Sunday) would lose.

One of the questions that have come up among fans after the game is whether the Gamecocks will be able to atone for not having an elite center this season; especially after Bruins center Lauren Betts was dominant in the paint.

Last season, South Carolina had Kamilla Cardoso, who was perhaps the NCAA's best center and the No. 3 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft. And before Cardoso was Aliyah Boston, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

Boston was surely watching Sunday's game closely. But an exchange she had with Indiana teammate Erica Wheeler on X afterward shows that she isn't too torn up about her alma mater's defeat.

Wheeler wrote, "Don’t nobody say nothing to @aa_boston !

"I gotcha back sistaaaaa girl! I," on X along with a gif of a clenched fist.

This prompted a response from Boston, who wrote, "Ain’t nothing to say to me 😂😂 last time someone like this happened we won a natty 🤷🏽‍♀️ everything for a reason".

Boston appears to be referencing the 2021-22 season, when her Gamecocks squad was upset by Missouri 70-69 on December 30 and also lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC tournament. They still won the 2022 NCAA National Championship.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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