Aliyah Boston missed the second half of the Indiana Fever’s 105-95 win over the Seattle Storm after suffering a right lower leg injury during the second quarter.
Boston was moving to the lane to receive a Caitlin Clark pass when she tripped over Flau’jae Johnson’s foot. She appeared to land directly on her right knee and immediately grabbed at it in pain. Players from both teams quickly surrounded Boston as the team trainer rushed out to check on her. She was helped off the floor and taken directly to the locker room.
Boston returned to the bench for the start of the second half and was listed as questionable, but did not play. She finished with 11 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 10:38.
Fever coach Stephanie White did not have an update on Boston’s status after the game, other than it “wasn’t really worth the risk” to play Boston in the second half. “We just want to be very conservative and make sure that she’s good to go.”
White credited her players with coming together after Boston went down, citing specifically their communication inside the huddle.
“Our communication in huddles before we get in there as coaches has been really, really good,” White said. “We are holding each other down, lifting each other up and talking about being there for AB. Everybody has to do a little bit more and our team did that.”
In place of Boston, Monique Billings finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 29:52, Makayla Timpson posted a plus-14 rating with four points, four boards and a block, and Myisha Hines-Allen logged five points and four rebounds in 10:51.
“AB is just AB,” Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said during a halftime interview with ESPN. “She’s an All-Star. She’s one-of-a-kind. She’s gonna be a hall of famer one day. So that’s a load for all of us to try and pick up. We’re trying to keep the energy, keep the vibes high. We’re gonna be OK. I think AB’s gonna be OK, too. But we have to focus on this game. We need to get it for her.”
Boston has been managing a right lower leg injury that’s caused her to miss three games this season.
She first suffered that injury during Unrivaled in February and has been dealing with it through the WNBA season. She did not play in two of the three preseason games, then missed the first regular-season game of her professional career on May 17.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever C Aliyah Boston questionable to return vs Storm with leg injury
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
