“Flex your ish” - 3x national champ Dawn Staley hypes up former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston during matchup against Mercury

Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever took on the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. Playing against a team of veterans, Boston, along with Caitlin Clark, fought hard to secure an 88-82 victory.

The center finished the game with a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists on 6-for-9 shooting. Her former coach, Dawn Staley, was especially proud of Boston as she tweeted:

"Flex your ish @aa_boston!!!"

Staley and her live commentary of her former players' WNBA games is becoming a regular affair in this college offseason. On Thursday, when the Las Vegas Aces took on the Chicago Sky, Staley's loyalties were split as the teams featured her former players A'ja Wilson and Kamilla Cardoso

While she remains neutral more often than not, Coach Staley was particularly upset when Wilson blocked one of Cardoso's shots.

"Oh, Kamilla! No, don't do that to Kamilla! Do not do that to Kamilla," Staley said on Instagram Live with her fists toward the camera. "I'm gonna fight, I'm gonna fight, I'm gonna fight! I'm gonna fight."

A month before, she defended Aliyah Boston against an online attack after she missed a game-winning shot.

"And I’m still going to give the ball to [Aliyah Boston]!! Believe that!"

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Dawn Staley to receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance

ESPN announced on Thursday that South Carolina coach Dawn Staley will be awarded the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2024 ESPYS on July 11. She will be the first solo female awardee since Kay Yow in 2007.

The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance recognizes individuals of the sports community "who have overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination," according to the V Foundation website. The award is in remembrance of former NC State Jim Volvano, who set up the V Foundation for Cancer Research after his battle with the disease.

Coach Staley's recognition comes from her decades-long efforts to raise awareness and money for cancer patients and for her work in uplifting women's sports.

The four-time Naismith Coach of the Year has a personal history with cancer as her friend, former Rutgers assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson, died in 2023 after a long struggle with breast cancer. Staley's sister Tracy Underwood also battles leukemia after her diagnosis in 2020.

On October 22, three months after McCray-Penson's passing, Dawn Staley organized an exhibition game between South Carolina and Rutgers. The money raised from the game was to benefit the local nonprofit 'In the Middle'. Staley has also worked to organize donors for the bone marrow registry, Be The Match.