Gamecocks turn to freshman under Final Four spotlight: ‘She did a great job’
Saniya Rivers made her presence felt Friday night.
South Carolina’s freshman guard took the floor at Target Center to start the second quarter against Louisville, along with teammates Victaria Saxton, Destanni Henderson, Zia Cooke and Kamilla Cardoso. In the first minute, she dished out an assist to Saxton, who hit the reverse layup to put the Gamecocks up 19-10.
Rivers ended the night with three points, four assists, two steals and a block in 20 minutes played. It was only the sixth time this season the Wilmington, North Carolina native logged 20 minutes or more in a game and the first time since a Feb. 20 contest against Tennessee.
Rivers’ first-ever Final Four performance drew praise from Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley.
“She has a real good knack for her court vision,” Staley said of her young player. “It’s elite. I just thought bringing her in where we put her in a position where she could play, get our post players the ball or make good decisions — she’s been doing that all season long. It’s just certain situations call for you to really hone in on that, and I thought she did a great job with it.”
Watching Rivers play on the biggest stage in college basketball, it’s hard to believe there was a three-week stretch where she didn’t see the court at all.
Speaking while the Gamecocks hosted the first rounds of the tournament, Staley called it a coach’s decision to hold the guard out. Her entrance into the Elite Eight game against Creighton on Sunday drew an ovation from the crowd at the 5:32 mark of the fourth quarter. A week later, she upped her minutes by 14 and will likely be a factor when South Carolina takes on UConn in the national championship game.
Unfinished business for Gamecocks
Destanni Henderson, Aliyah Boston and Brea Beal have been here before. Though the Gamecocks don’t dwell too much on the past, the way last year ended still doesn’t sit well with them. The group fell to eventual national champion Stanford 66-65 after Boston’s last-second shot missed.
A year later, South Carolina’s Final Four victory celebration was short-lived. In 48 hours, the team has what it deems as a job to finish.
“We’re going to take in this moment, and we’re not done yet, so we still have unfinished business,” Henderson said. “Just going to live in the moment for right now, but (Saturday) just to lock in more and just do what we have to do to just make it all the way.”
The Gamecocks will take Saturday to reset and get ready to accomplish their ultimate goal.
“Just definitely rest our bodies and our minds and turn the page,” Beal said. “(The Final Four) was a hard game, a hard-fought game. We pulled the win in, and we’ve just got to continue and be ready for Sunday.”
Aliyah Boston? ‘She’s good’
Louisville coach Jeff Walz could have his 6-year-old describe why Boston is so effective. After recording a 23-point, 18-rebound performance against his Cardinals squad, the answer for her success isn’t too hard to figure out.
“She’s 6-foot-5. That impacts it,” Walz said of the Gamecocks’ national player of the year. “She has good hands. She moves well. She finishes on both sides of the floor. She goes after the ball. She’s good.”
Boston had no problem imposing her will in the paint and tallied her 29th double-double of the season, breaking the single-season program rebounding record with a total of 446 entering the national title clash. It was previously held by Katrina Anderson, who had 434 during the 1977-78 season.
“My main focus is bringing home a national championship Sunday night, so I’m just really locked in on that,” Boston said, adding: “Scoring, I think the game just opened up. We were able to continue to move the ball and it opened up for me to get more scoring opportunities.”
No edge vs UConn?
Anything that happened before Sunday doesn’t matter.
Yes, South Carolina and UConn played earlier this year, but that’s in the past. When hardware is on the line, the present is the main focus and priority.
“Is there an edge? No. There’s not an edge,” Staley said of having played the Huskies before. “When you’re playing for a national championship, it is the team that can get to their habits quickly and stay there.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 12:08 AM with the headline "Gamecocks turn to freshman under Final Four spotlight: ‘She did a great job’."
