It’s two for two for South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and Aliyah Boston. On Thursday, Staley was named WBCA Coach of the Year, and Boston won two—Associated Press (AP) Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy as the best player in women’s college basketball.
Since 2001, it has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I Player of the Year. The awards were handed out after the four national semifinalists practiced at Target Center ahead of Friday’s contests.
“You know that you’re going to get everybody’s best effort at different times in the game,” explained Staley of playing Louisville Friday.
“I’m pretty damn proud of what we’ve done here … and if we’re not in the national media talk, so be it,” added Louisville Coach Jeff Walz.
“There are three other teams here that are better than the teams we played,” said UConn Coach Geno Auriemma about their matchup against Stanford.
“You’re not going to get here without having a balanced team,” said defending champion Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer of her squad.
“Thank you for testing me on the court,” said Boston to her teammates, who filled the media interview room, along with reporters and others. “I love you guys.”
Charles Hallman will be providing a nightly recap of the day’s events during the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Related Story: Women’s Final Four dispatch: Staley, Boston garner top national honors
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