Women's Basketball . February 27, 2018

Trio of Gamecocks Honored by SEC Coaches and Associated Press

Feb. 27, 2018

Coach of the Year: Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State

Player of the Year: A’ja Wilson, South Carolina

Freshman of the Year: Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M

Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State; A’ja Wilson, South Carolina

6th Woman of the Year: Anastasia Hayes, Tennessee

Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Blair Schaefer, Mississippi State; Haley Clark, Georgia; Alyssa Rice, Kentucky

All-SEC First Team
Raigyne Louis, LSU
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Jamie Nared, Tennessee
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M

All-SEC Second Team
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Mackenzie Engram, Georgia
Chloe Jackson, LSU
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Morgan William, Mississippi State
Jordan Frericks, Missouri
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Khaalia Hillsman, Texas A&M

All-Defensive Team
Daisa Alexander, Auburn
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Raigyne Louis, LSU
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Blair Schaefer, Mississippi State
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina

All-Freshman Team
Unique Thompson, Auburn
Que Morrison, Georgia
Promise Taylor, Ole Miss
Bianca Jackson, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Evina Westbrook, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
Chelsie Hall, Vanderbilt

COLUMBIA, S.C. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢’Â¬” Southeastern Conference women’s basketball head coaches and the Associated Press tapped South Carolina senior forward A’ja Wilson the SEC Player of the Year for the third time, making her the first to earn the award that often. Both organizations selected her as a four-time First-Team All-SEC selection as well ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢’Â¬” the first in South Carolina history and the first SEC player since Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey (2005-08) to capture a spot on the first team all four years of her career. The coaches went on to name Wilson the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year, marking the second time in her career she has picked up that award.

Both the coaches and the AP named sophomore guard Tyasha Harris to its All-SEC Second Team, and the coaches went on to pick Bianca Jackson for the SEC All-Freshman Team. The last five Gamecocks named to the league’s All-Freshman Team went on to earn All-SEC honors the following season, including Harris. A Gamecock has been the SEC Player of the Year for the last five seasons.

“Incredibly proud of our Gamecocks who have been recognized by our conference,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “A’ja being a three-time Player of the Year, two-time defensive player of the year and four-time first-team All-SEC in the best conference in the country is an amazing feat. Tyasha joining the second-team shows her improvement and growth from a year ago. Bianca’s willingness to play heavy minutes for us has paid off with her spot on the all-freshman team. Overall, these three would not be in such great company ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢’Â¬” and I’m sure they would agree ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢’Â¬” without the teammates they lineup with every practice and game.”

Wilson is in the waning games of the most productive season of her career as the only player among the nation’s top 40 in scoring (7th, 22.9 ppg), rebounding (9th, 12.0 rpg) and blocked shots per game (5th, 3.31 bpg). A consistent scorer, she has reached double figures in 25 of her 26 games this season, including 14 games of 25 or more points. Wilson is sixth in the nation with 19 double-doubles, including her first career 20/20 outing against #24/- LSU when she posted 27 points and 24 rebounds on Feb. 22. Her increased production came while playing less than one minute more per game than she did last season when she averaged 17.9 points and 7.8 rebounds. Her defensive presence goes beyond her SEC-best 3.3 blocks per game to her league-best 8.0 defensive rebounds per game, which rank sixth in the nation.

Harris continued to expand her game in her sophomore season, more than doubling her scoring output from 5.6 points per game last season to 11.2 per game this season. Her assist average nearly doubled as well from 3.2 in her freshman year to an SEC-best 6.3 this season, which ranks 19th in the nation. In league play, Harris is the Gamecocks second-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game while she handed out even more assists at 6.5 per conference contest. She has recorded six double-doubles this season, making her one of just three Gamecocks in the SEC era to record multiple points-assists double-doubles. Harris has scored in double figures 16 times this season, including three 20-point games, all of which came against nationally ranked opponents. Harris is second in the SEC with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and third in steals per game at 2.3.

Jackson was thrust into a starting role just eight games into her college career due to various injuries, but she earned her 29.4 minutes per game with steady play on both sides of the ball. Five of her seven double-figure scoring games this season came in SEC play, and her season-best 20 points came against #1/1 UConn (Feb. 1). Her 39.8 percent 3-point shooting ranks eighth in the SEC and 17th among the nation’s true freshmen. Jackson’s contributions go beyond scoring as she averages 2.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds as well.

The #8/6 Gamecocks (23-6, 12-4 SEC) earned the second seed in this week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville. South Carolina will take on the winner of the game between No. 10-seed Auburn and seventh-seeded Tennessee on Fri., March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.