Feb. 20, 2005

Columbia, S.C. – – South Carolina team captain and leading scorer Lauren Simms sustained a knee injury during the first half of Sunday’s win over Alabama at the Colonial Center and did not return to the game. Simms has been diagnosed with a sprained right knee and underwent an MRI Sunday. Simms will be re-evaluated in a week. Until she is re-evaluated, her status for the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament is unknown.

A Freshman All-SEC selection a year ago, Simms earned a spot on the SEC Good Works team for her efforts in the community both as a freshman and as a sophomore. In the classroom, she owns one of the highest grade-point averages of any player on the Gamecock roster.

The Columbia native and Spring Valley HS graduate averages 11.8 points per game and is the only Carolina player to have started all 26 games this year. Since arriving on campus, Simms has not missed a game and has started in 53 of South Carolina’s 54 games, with the lone exception coming after she sprained an ankle leading up to last year’s game at Tennessee on Feb. 8. Simms came off the bench that day to score 13 points and grab five rebounds.