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Aliyah Boston, Dawn Staley ride belief in each other to NCAA title

Aliyah Boston was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after leading South Carolina to the title. (Bri Lewerke/Just Women’s Sports)

MINNEAPOLIS — Aliyah Boston was in high demand after the buzzer sounded and hordes of people rushed the court to celebrate South Carolina’s triumph Sunday night. The towering, smiling junior danced around with her teammates at center court, stopped for television interviews, shouted across the crowd to her idol, Candace Parker, and shared a moment with 2017 South Carolina champion A’ja Wilson.

There were more people who wanted to catch a glimpse or a soundbite of Boston than the star player had time for. Then, Dawn Staley found her in the crowd.

“That’s it right there!” Staley said, as she cupped her hands around Boston’s face and pointed at the cameras to catch her smile.

The lasting image from South Carolina’s run to the Final Four last year was of Boston’s face, tears welling up in her eyes and cascading down her cheeks as soon as her game-winning putback attempt against Stanford bounced off the rim. The Gamecocks walked away two points away from the national championship game, while Stanford went on to win it all.

One year later, South Carolina didn’t leave any question as to who was the best team in the country, jumping out to a 14-point lead over UConn in the first quarter and never trailing in the 64-49 win. Boston, in a fashion that has become almost automatic, finished with a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds to win her first national championship and the program’s second.

“God has blessed us, blessed us with great teammates who made the decision to trust Coach Staley, trust the process, and we’re victorious tonight,” Boston said after the trophy ceremony, off to the side of the celebration.

As Boston made her rounds through the fallen confetti and the feeling sunk in, there were tears. But this time through the tears, her eyes sparkled and her lips turned up into a smile, showing the mouth full of braces everyone has come to see this season.

That’s the image Staley wanted remembered.

“I think a player like Aliyah doesn’t realize her power. I think she’s really a nice young lady, and she wants everything to be smooth, smooth sailing. She doesn’t want any conflict. She’s not confrontational,” Staley said later on. “When you are like that, you don’t really understand the power of being dominant.”

Dominance was the theme for South Carolina and Boston all season long. The No. 1 team in the nation from the AP preseason poll through the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks lost just two games while rolling through the rest of their SEC schedule and tough non-conference slate. Boston was the biggest reason why, averaging a double-double for the Gamecocks (that at one point reached a streak of 27 straight) and finishing the season as the National Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

But there were many times, especially during Boston’s first two seasons under Staley, that the coach had to be hard on the 6-foot-5 forward because she shied away from her greatness. It wasn’t Boston’s nature to demand the ball and step into the spotlight, so she needed a nudge.

“I’ve been around a lot of great basketball players who have been dominant, and I saw it in her, and I would not allow her to be anything less than that, even if I had to hurt her,” said Staley, the National Coach of the Year. “From a basketball standpoint, I think I’m the perfect coach for her because I recognize what her gifts are and how to walk into that.”

With Staley’s help, Boston emerged as South Carolina’s leader this year and infused her teammates with confidence along the way.

Whenever Boston got the ball Sunday night, she was swarmed by at least two UConn defenders. So, she kicked it out to Destanni Henderson, who had a career-high 26 points on 9-for-20 shooting, and Zia Cooke, who had 11. And she did the grunt work in the paint, helping South Carolina haul in 49 rebounds (including 21 offensive) to UConn’s 24 and making two key blocks in the fourth quarter to prevent the Huskies from regaining any momentum.

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(Bri Lewerke/Just Women's Sports)

A’ja Wilson watched Boston with pride from her front-row seat behind the Gamecocks’ bench. When South Carolina was last cutting down the nets in 2017, Wilson was in a similar position to Boston, a junior who overcame two short-lived tournament runs to capitalize finally on the promise of Staley’s program.

Wilson, too, credits much of her growth as a player to her former coach.

“This team is so special,” Wilson said. “When you’re real, when you’re loyal, when you speak the truth, people buy in.”

Boston bought into what Staley was building four years ago. Having narrowed her college choices down to four schools — UConn, Ohio State, Notre Dame and South Carolina — and grappling with the final decision, she called Staley in November 2018. She felt a special connection with the coach, a former player she could learn from, a Black woman she could look up to and, as she calls Staley today, a “second mom off the court.”

Since the day she committed to the program, Boston has taken all the lessons Staley’s given her and evolved into the best player in college basketball and now a champion.

Among the people who wanted a moment with Boston on Sunday night were young girls who stuck around for an hour after the final whistle blew. Hearing her name, Boston stepped away from the noise and made her way from one endline of the court to the other, stopping every few feet to sign hats and sheets of paper and take selfies with fans.

A superstar and a champion, Boston is the pride of South Carolina. A torchbearer of the game, Boston is ever the student of Dawn Staley.

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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