How Aliyah Boston's parents celebrated South Carolina women's basketball reaching Final Four
At their home in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, the Boston family has a glass jar filled with an assortment of crumpled confetti, an ever-growing souvenir capturing four years of success.
After South Carolina women's basketball (36-0) clinched its third consecutive trip to the Final Four with an 86-75 win over Maryland (28-7) in the NCAA Tournament, Al Boston scooped a handful of orange, red and blue crepe paper off the floor at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and tucked it into the front pocket of his pants.
Al and his wife Cleone, the parents of Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston, have never missed an important game in their daughter's college career — and there have been a lot of them. Since Aliyah's freshman year, South Carolina has won two SEC tournament championships, reached three Final Fours and secured the 2022 national title.
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"I wouldn't trade it for the world," Boston said. "They never want to miss anything, and they never have. Even since we were younger and had to move to the States, they always tried to come to everything they could. That's just their way of continuing to support."
Against the Terrapins, Aliyah scored a team-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds for her 82nd career double-double. She also logged five assists, two blocks and was the team's most accurate shooter, hitting 71% from the field.
Watching their daughter shine on the biggest stages never gets old for Al and Cleone, but they never envisioned this trajectory for her career when she committed to South Carolina in 2019.
"I was just trying to get her to school for free," Cleone said with a laugh. "Honestly, that was our biggest goal. The games in high school don't always translate the same in college. It doesn't always translate from day one. So it was just her being prepared to come in and work, and let God guide you wherever He leads you."
What made this year's Elite Eight win special was the crowd. Because Greenville hosted the regional, a legion of South Carolina supporters made the short trip to the Upstate. Dozens of fans wore Aliyah's No. 4 jersey in the stands, and the arena roared when she was announced as the region's most outstanding player.
"It tells us she made the right decision," Al said. "For her, this is home."
Aliyah's parents won't return home to the Virgin Islands between Monday's game and the Gamecocks' Final Four matchup against Iowa on Friday (9 p.m., ESPN). They had to pack light for their flights, so they booked a hotel in Dallas that has a laundromat to get them through another week in the U.S.
Aliyah said her family's support means everything, but it also comes with an added layer of pressure. Her grandparents, sister, aunts and uncles and dozens of her parents' friends booked flights and hotels for the Final Four long before South Carolina officially earned their berth.
"My grandma told me before this game, she was like 'Aliyah, you guys gotta win. My ticket is set for Dallas. I'm coming,'" Boston said. "My grandpa called me today and was like 'OK, you know what you gotta do right? We're trying to come down.' I'm like, guys, tell me good luck. No, they said we need to win so they can come to Dallas."
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What South Carolina's Final Four berth meant to Aliyah Boston's family
