Former South Carolina basketball stars shine on first day of WNBA Playoffs

The WNBA Playoffs began on Sunday, and several South Carolina basketball alums had standout performances in their opening postseason games.

Just hours after being awarded her third MVP, A'ja Wilson led her Las Vegas Aces squad to a come-from-behind victory over the Seattle Storm. She scored 21 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and blocked 5 shots in an effort that was dominant on defense most of the way and included a locked-in 3rd quarter that helped spark the win. In danger of an early blowout, Wilson blocked 4 shots in the 1st half, and when her team couldn't get things going on offense, she sparked the comeback effort herself with 15 of her team's 26 points in the 3rd period.

The Indiana Fever lost to the Connecticut Sun, but former Gamecock Aliyah Boston was her team's best player. In her first career playoff game, Boston logged a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and she added 3 assists and 2 blocks; only Lisa Leslie and Liz Cambage had put up 17-11-2 in their playoff debut before Boston's big game. Fellow Fever forward Victaria Saxton got into the game late and made her only shot attempt. Sun guard Ty Harris was hurt in the game and was seen in a walking boot and on crutches afterward. Sun guard Tiffany Mitchell missed the game with an illness.

Allisha Gray and Laeticia Amihere couldn't guide their Atlanta Dream squad to a win over the #1-seed New York Liberty, but the game was very competitive after a tough 1st quarter. As the team's top guard, Gray finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, while reserve forward Amihere logged 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 10 minutes on the floor.

In the final game of the opening night of the postseason, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan's Phoenix Mercury squad fell to the Minnesota Lynx. Herbert Harrigan played sparingly in the defeat.