Aliyah Boston Was Beyond Hyped Watching Ashlyn Watkins' Dunk in South Carolina Win
Many women's college basketball fans assumed that the No. 3 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks' game against the No. 12 ranked TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday would be South Carolina's toughest test of the 2024-25 season so far, aside from their contest against UCLA.
But there was nothing tough about the Gamecocks' dominant 85-52 victory against the Horned Frogs, who were thoroughly outmatched and outclassed during the entire game.
In fact, it became clear that Sunday was not going to be TCU's game after South Carolina junior standout Ashlyn Watkins dunked during the first quarter.
With about 80 seconds left in the quarter, Watkins stole a ball at around half-court, dribbled down inside the three-point line, slowed down for a moment to clear for takeoff, then dropped a one-handed dunk.
ASHLYN DUNK-INS OH MY‼️😱
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) December 9, 2024
📺 ESPN2 | https://t.co/OnR8sFt3CL pic.twitter.com/qVJ5U6cFbZ
This was not the first time Watkins has dunked in a college game. She did so once during her freshman year and again in January 2024 against the Kentucky Wildcats.
Her impressive dunk got the entire stadium on its feet and cheering, many of whom have likely never seen a woman dunk during a game before.
But one fan in attendance who was familiar with this spectacle was Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, who was sitting courtside. Boston played with Watkins for the latter's freshman season and therefore would have seen her first dunk.
X user @BiggggLo_ posted an angle of Watkins' dunk with Boston (who could be seen jumping up, appearing to mimic Watkins' dunk as she executed it) in the background with the caption, "Aliyah dunking in the back 😭".
Boston then commented on the video by writing, "Lmaooo I’m crying 😂😂 I was too hyped".
Lmaooo I’m crying 😂😂I was too hyped
— Aliyah A. Boston (@aa_boston) December 9, 2024
Perhaps we'll see Boston trying to replicate Watkins' dunk in one of her games, either during the Fever's 2025 season or in Unrivaled.
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.