Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark Top 2023 Women's College Player of the Year Finalists

Iowa's Caitlin Clark and South Carolina's Aliyah Boston lead the list of finalists for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's College Player of the Year award.

Clark's dynamic offensive game has led the Hawkeyes into the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. She leads the nation with 8.6 assists and 3.4 three-pointers made per game.

Boston's all-around play has been the driving force behind South Carolina's dominance over the past four years. The senior star won her fourth consecutive SEC Defensive Player of the Year award this season.

Here are the full list of finalists announced Tuesday:

• Caitlin Clark, Iowa
• Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
• Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
• Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
  

Clark has a great case for the award ahead of the final round of voting. The Hawkeyes guard has improved as the spotlight has gotten bigger. She has posted back-to-back double-doubles in the NCAA tournament after a triple-double with 30 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

In the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, Clark scored or assisted on 31 of Iowa's 33 points in the second half of Iowa's 74-66 win over Georgia.

Boston is seeking her second consecutive Naismith Women's College Player of the Year award. She's got a fantastic argument, averaging nearly a double-double with 13.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in 34 starts for South Carolina.

The Gamecocks' dominance might actually hurt Boston's odds because she doesn't have to play as many minutes as the other contenders, which results in her counting stats appearing to be depressed. She's only averaged 26.0 minutes per game, compared to 34.1 for Clark and 35.3 for Siegrist.

Head coach Dawn Staley praised Boston's selfless style of play following South Carolina's 76-45 win over South Florida on Sunday.

Boston is the only player in the country who ranks in the top five in offensive and defensive player rating, per Sports Reference.

If Boston does win the award, she will become the first repeat winner since Breanna Stewart in 2015 and 2016.

Siegrist is having a scoring season for the ages and is the biggest reason this has been the most successful season in Villanova history. The Wildcats have already won a school-record 30 games and are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.

With her 35-point effort against Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Siegrist became the fifth player in women's Division I history to score 1,000 points in a single season.

Siegrist's 29.2 points per game leads the nation by a wide margin. Drexel's Keishana Washington is the only player within two points of her (27.7 per game).

Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley is one of 21 players in the country averaging a double-double this season (18.2 points, 10.8 rebounds). Her 2.3 blocks per contest are tied for 11th in the nation.

A three-time first-team All-ACC selection, Kitley led the Hokies to their first ACC tournament title this season. Their 29 wins are the most in a single season in program history, and they earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Kitley became the first player in ACC women's basketball history with at least 20 rebounds in a game when she accomplished the feat on Dec. 18 against Notre Dame.

Fan voting, which begins Tuesday and runs through March 28, will account for 5 percent of the final vote. The winner will be announced March 29 at the Final Four in Dallas.