She Wanted a Scholarship. Now She’s the Face of Women’s College Basketball.

Published by
Sports Illustrated

By Wilton Jackson Aliyah Boston is a double-double machine, TikTok queen and the biggest reason South Carolina has been No. 1 all season. Nine-year-old Aliyah Boston stood at the free throw line while her teammates prepared to box out in a game in the U.S. Virgin Islands’s sports, park and recreation league. She converted a pair of free throws, having now scored all 50 of her team’s points. But in the final minutes, Boston fouled out, forced to watch the rest from the bench. Immediately after her departure, a player on the opposing team converted a shot, sending Boston’s team to a 52–50 loss. …