GREENSBORO, N.C. – Aliyah Boston headed across the court to join her South Carolina teammates in their celebration when she bumped into assistant coach Fred Chmiel.
Almost immediately, Chmiel jumped into the 6-foot-5 junior’s arms for an exuberant hug.
It was a reversal from a year earlier, when Chmiel held a sobbing Boston on the court after the horn sounded to end South Carolina’s title push in a Final Four game that ended with her missing a putback for the win.
Boston and the Gamecocks are headed back to that same point, this time as the No. 1 overall seed in the women NCAA Tournament. They’ve relentlessly stalked this title dream all season.
“She’s mature enough to handle it,” coach Dawn Staley said. “She’s grounded. She knows who she is. She never gets out in front of anything. … That’s just a real good sign of just maturing and knowing who you are, knowing your worth and knowing that she’s probably the (national) player of the year.”
The first-team…
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