South Carolina’s Dawn Staley provides Aliyah Boston injury update

South Carolina women’s basketball star Aliyah Boston will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s top-25 matchup against No. 15 UCLA.

Boston missed the second half of the top-ranked Gamecocks’ win Sunday against Hampton after falling on a hard drive to the basket before the half. She later appeared on the bench in the third quarter with a boot on her right foot.

On Monday, Boston did not fully participate in practice, but she shot free throws without a boot on her foot. Instead, her ankle was wrapped.

“She’s out here, no boot on and feels a lot better than she did yesterday,” Staley said. “I think for the most part it scared her.”

South Carolina enters Tuesday on a 16-game winning streak over ranked opponents. Staley said Monday that the team is ready to go without Boston should the reigning player of the year not be able to take the court.

“We’re good. Everybody’s ready to step up,” Staley said. “We understand what she means to our program and to lose her would be a big void. But we got a lot of bigs who can fill in in a lot of ways.

“We’re not fretting anything if she’s not able to play.”