When Stanford won the national title in 2021, COVID restrictions made it nearly impossible to socialize outside of the team’s bubble.
Haley Jones of Stanford University finally found Aaliyah Boston anyway.
After Boston’s potential game-winning hint hit the metal instead of the net, and her South Carolina team fell to the Cardinals in the Final Four, longtime friends Jones and Flambellibi swung Boston across the court. I was able to hug you.
After the April 2021 game, Jones said, “I think being so close together made us really competitive with each other. I mean, it was a tough fight. She played great. We both played great, so we just wanted to give her the respect she deserves.”
The future face of women’s college basketball may be UConn’s injured Paige Bueckers or Iowa’s sharp-shooting Caitlin Clark, but the sport’s current frontwomen are Jones and Boston, and their connections are in college. deeper than the team of
Both now have titles. After Stanford’s 66-65 win over the Gamecocks in his 2021, the Cardinals defeated Arizona for his first title in 29 years led by Jones. He defeated UConn, the team South Carolina knocked off Stanford last season to prevent a rematch.
The parallel careers of Boston, Jones and Veribi make it a rarity for such a collective experience to face the pressure of not only being one of the sport’s top players, but one of the faces of the sport. enjoying sex.
“We feel like we’re in the same boat,” Boston said in a phone interview with Chronicle. It’s so exciting for me… I love that we’ve never stopped being friends.”
Boston and Jones are widely regarded as the two best players in the country, and the South Carolina and Stanford teams were ranked first and second respectively in AP polls when they played on Sunday. I’m here.
Their friendship blossomed long before they faced off in the Final Four.
“We just forged this bond,” said Boston. “We hit it off right away and have been friends ever since.”
Stanford University’s Hayley Jones, 30, and University of South Carolina’s Aaliyah Boston, 04, tangled over a rebound during the 2021 NCAA Women’s Finals for Nationals Semifinal Basketball game at the Alamodome on Friday, April 2, 2021. Fit.
Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express – News/Staff PhotographerThe two are always geographically separated. After coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Jones played for Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose and Boston, Massachusetts.
In 2017, when they were 15 years old, USA Basketball invited them to the FIBA U-16 World Cup. Bellibi and Boston played, and Jones was the alternate. They all went to Belarus for the U-17 World Cup and immediately found a connection.
“I think our relationship brings a lot of competitiveness between the two of us,” Jones said. “But just having another great friend all over the country going through what I’m going through is really cool.”
While Boston dominates the paint, Jones facilitates along the Cardinal’s perimeter as a guard.
Stanford University and the University of South Carolina have met only twice throughout their careers.
In the Final Four game, Boston owned the board with 16 rebounds and four blocks, Jones scored 24 points, and her jumper scored the winning run on the Cardinal’s last possession. The Gamecocks edged Stanford 65-61 in Columbia.
Outside of these rare meetings, they are typically thousands of miles apart.
“We do different things, but we have a lot of the same struggles,” Jones said. “It’s really nice to have someone to confide in, but we don’t see each other every day. It’s a different type of relationship.”
Boston said the Gamecock FaceTimed with Jones Tuesday night before entering Thursday’s contest with Clemson, where he won for the third time. They try to stay in touch throughout the season, but both are busy coaching their respective teams.
On the court, not all familiarity disappears during a match.
“It’s always intense when we play,” Boston said. “We always find ways to chat and ask how each other is doing, and it’s always a great combination.”
Sunday’s game could be Jones and Bellibi’s last game against Boston in college. Like Jones, Beribi is a senior and part of a “Funky Four” group called Coaches, which includes Ashten Prechtel and Hannah Jump.
The Cardinals are a little different this time around against their rivals, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the top players.
“We played very well[against South Carolina last year]but we were a different team,” Tara Vanderbier said. “I think it should give people confidence.
Stanford beat five unranked opponents with a score margin of over 45, but the Gamecocks are already being tested by Maryland without top Terrapins player Diamond Miller. . South Carolina is averaging 89 points per game, just one behind No. 7 Stanford’s 91.
The Gamecocks lead the nation with 9.7 blocks per game, making for an interesting matchup against a large Cardinal line-up who are doing extremely well to score points in the paint.
Cardinal thrives in depth, with about half the points in each game coming from the bench and with at least 14 players in each contest. The matchup against South Carolina will be a closer matchup with a focus on locking down the starting pitchers.
After Fever won the lottery, Boston is set to be the first overall WNBA Draft pick to Indiana this spring.
Before that, another chapter in the most compelling rivalry in the women’s game grew around two of the best players in the country.
“How often do you get to see number one and number two early in the season?” Jones said. “All of these things are exciting for women’s basketball.”
Marisa Injemi is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: marisa.ingemi@sfchronicle.com
