South Carolina sweeps Naismith honors, Staley also earns USBWA award

For the first time in Naismith Awards history, one program has swept all three women’s basketball awards. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley earned the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year honor. The team’s star forward, Aliyah Boston earned the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year. She also received the Naismith Trophy Women’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Boston, along with her long list of accolades, is the 2022 SEC Player of the Year. She had a banner season, setting an SEC record of 27 straight doubles. She averaged a career-high 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest.

Earlier in the day, Staley also won the United States Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year award. She led her squad back to the Final Four for the second-straight season. This is also the fourth time in the last seven NCAA Tournaments South Carolina has entered into the final stretch of the tournament. Overall, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in every AP Poll this season.

The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, South Carolina plays No. 4 Louisville in the Final Four on Friday.