South Carolina's Aliyah Boston leaves game after hard fall

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston did not return to the court for the second half after taking a hard fall and heading to the locker room against Hampton on Sunday.

The Most Outstanding Player of last spring's NCAA Tournament was driving for the basket when she fell and took several moments to get up after getting fouled.

Boston, the top-ranked Gamecocks' 6-foot-5 senior, missed two foul shots, then ran down the floor on defense. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley subbed out Boston, who walked into the tunnel toward the locker room.

She did rejoin her teammates for warmups before the third quarter and was not on the bench when play resumed.

Boston was the Associated Press Player of the Year in 2022 during the Gamecocks' run to the national championship.

She has averaged 13 points and 10.6 rebounds in South Carolina's 5-0 start this season. She had six points and four boards before leaving Sunday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25