The Indiana Fever haven't had a great start to the WNBA season. The Fever's teammates Aliyah Boston thus faced enormous media pressure with the arrival of the phenomenon Caitlin Clark… which the league absolutely wanted to take advantage of. At the end of May, the Fever was the team having played the most matches, against big teams.
Between the gap in preparation and the lack of experience, the Fever therefore posted a record of only one win for seven losses. Personally too, Aliyah Boston was in difficulty (only 11 points at 44.2% shooting and 6.1 rebounds on average) while she was coming off a first All-Star season and had been elected “Rookie of the Year”.
Faced with criticism from “armchair coaches”, she nevertheless decided to leave social networks.
“I feel like I've started to protect my serenity,” estimates the interior of the Fever. “I just made sure I did the things that I needed to do, that helped me, so that on the field I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself.”
A rise in power
Since then, the Indiana Fever have improved their record to 11 wins and 15 losses and Aliyah Boston has found similar statistics to last season, with her 14.2 points on 53.2% shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. She even matched her career high in points against the Dream, in June.
“I feel like it took a lot of mental strength because at the beginning of this season, honestly, I wasn't feeling well. I felt like I was starting from scratch.”she says. “I was trying to get my feet wet in everything that was going on, and I felt like there was too much discussion and too much noise, and that's mainly why I left social media.”
Enough to allow the sophomore to return to the All-Star Game thanks to her return to form.
An All-Star Pace
“Being an All-Star was definitely one of the goals because I feel like being an All-Star as a rookie is really impressive, but it's always tough to come back and do it again.”
In the seven games played in July, Aliyah Boston was even shooting 18 points on 65% shooting and 9.5 rebounds on average. The Indiana Fever has found its rhythm and the connection between Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston is working.
“I just kept making sure I was consistent for my team, making sure I was making my shots, finishing around the rim, making sure I was running whenever I could and doing all the little things. Because at the end of the day, we have a great team.”she concludes. We have a great group and I make sure I do everything I can to help them. It's important for our team.”
