Aliyah Boston's decision to drop out of Team USA for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico broke a lot of hearts, but the Fever No. 7 recently revealed more about the injury that compelled her to step down.

During the March 11 episode of the Post Moves podcast, Boston spoke to her co-host, Candace Parker, about how she felt the effects of her "lower leg injury" during her February 27 Unrivaled match against Rose BC. She detailed that the discomfort stemming from it made her feel like she was "15 steps behind everything" on the court.

Boston stated, "I literally felt like I was moving so slow. I was like, obviously, battling something in my lower leg. I was really not hoping the team [to win since] everything's not feeling great."

But while Boston's Phantom BC managed a victory in the match, according to The Athletic, the injury caused her to be dropped from Team USA for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico.

However, Boston isn't the only one whose Team USA dreams couldn't materialize for the time being. The Hive BC player, Sonia Citron, also missed the FIBA World Cup qualifiers campaign due to an injury she sustained during an Unrivaled match.

But while several fans wanted to watch Boston take to the court in the national jersey, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Team USA didn't miss her a lot.

Team USA Dominated Senegal Without Aliyah Boston

Team USA began its FIBA WCQ campaign on March 11 against Senegal. Besides containing experienced campaigners like Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young, the match also featured the debut of noted WNBA stars, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese.

While Reese was included in the starting lineup, Clark and Bueckers took to the court later. Team USA led Senegal in terms of scores throughout the match, but the squad's attacks improved significantly after Clark entered the court in the first quarter.

Team Senegal failed to put up much of a fight, eventually losing the match 110-46. While every Team USA member played a valuable role, Clark stood out with a double-double performance, comprising 17 points and 12 assists.

So, while Team USA performed dominantly without Boston, how do you think her addition could have helped the side?

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Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Souvik Roy