Early markers of domination
Tennesse’s Rennia Davis and South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston were rewarded for their opening week performances with SEC Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively.
More from SEC
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 9: Emma Meesseman tests positive for COVID-19
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 2: Shakeup in the ACC with Bollin commit, UNC retool
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 8: The Storm are WNBA champions. What’s next?
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 14: Mystics are going dancing
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 4: Wubble Trouble for the Liberty
Boston had a historic debut and Davis opened the season with a double double. And in their most recent games, No. 16 Notre Dame couldn’t stop Davis and No. 5 Maryland couldn’t get past Boston. Both helped propel their teams in during big, early tests on the road.
For Davis, the honors came the morning after a big win over Notre Dame in South Bend. Though Davis had a solid outing vs. ETSU, she went 2-for-8 against Central Arkansas, finishing with 4 points and 5 rebounds. Then, days before the game in South Bend, her teammate Zaay Green, who had been leading the team in scoring through two games, went down with an ACL injury.
Davis, who led the team in scoring last season along with Evina Westbrook, stepped back up. Her hot start in South Bend – grabbing offensive boards, finishing putbacks and hitting outside shots – helped lead Tennessee to an early lead. The Lady Vols maintained control throughout the game.
The Irish had nothing for Davis, on her way to her career-high 33 points, her second double double in three games and the Lady Vols first win in Purcell Pavilion since 2008. Now, through the first three games of the season, Davis is averaging 16.7 points per game and 8.3 rebounds.
The Lady Vols host Tennessee State on Thursday at 7 p.m. on SEC+.
Boston, the Freshman of the Week, followed up her season-opening triple double with another big performance against Maryland – which included 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 points in just the first half, getting the Gamecocks started on the way to a 63-54 win in College Park.
Here’s she scored on South Carolina’s opening play:
Also, it would be wrong not to include one of Boston’s monster blocks, which were just so fun to watch.
Her 14 total points led the team in scoring in the win. During her first two college games, she’s tallied 26 points, 19 rebounds, 15 blocks, three steals and two assists.
The Gamecocks play next at Dayton on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Love our 24/7 women’s basketball coverage? Join our Patreon now and support this work, while getting extra goodies and subscriber-only content for yourself.