South Carolina basketball alum Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever went from having the worst record in the league in 2023 to overcoming a 1-8 start to the 2024 campaign en route to a berth in the postseason. Partnering with rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and veteran Kelsey Mitchell, Boston was one-third of the league's hottest trifecta over the back half of the regular season.
Boston, now a two-time WNBA All-Star in her first two years as a professional, made her first appearance in the postseason on Sunday. The 1st pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft had a big game in the first contest of the series with just the third-ever 17-point, 11-rebound, 3-assist, and 2-block performance in a playoff debut.
She was even better on Wednesday.
As the best overall performer for the Fever, Boston scored an efficient 16 points on 7-12 shooting (and 2-2 from the free throw line) and pulled down a new career-high 19 rebounds. She also added 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. On defense, she did a good job in her matchups with future Hall of Famer DeWanna Bonner. As a rebounder, not only did she own the glass with her own 19 boards, she kept Bonner and Alyssa Thomas (the team's two best rebounders) from impacting the game as rebounders, pulling down 6 more rebounds than the opposing duo combined.
Unfortunately for Boston, the Connecticut Sun had too much firepower. Even with Boston's dominance, the Fever couldn't keep up with the Sun's assault on the free throw line. Connecticut went 22-23 from the charity stripe (compared to just 7-9 for the Fever) as all seven players who saw the floor made it to the foul line. The 87-81 loss ended the Fever's season.
Former Gamecocks Tiffany Mitchell (illness) and Ty Harris (ankle injury) did not play for the Sun on Wednesday, and Victaria Saxton didn't make it onto the court for the Fever.