March 10, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior Tiffany Mitchell and freshman A’ja Wilson are two of 15 student-athletes to earn a spot on the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Ballot, The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, all 15 on the ballot are eligible for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The Phoenix Club of Philadelphia has also announced that Mitchell is one of four finalists for the 2015 Dawn Staley Award.
Last week, Mitchell became the sixth woman in SEC history to earn back-to-back outright Player of the Year honors when the league office announced the coaches’ awards. Her team-best 14.4 points per game are fifth in the SEC, and she ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.505) and third in free throw percentage (.840). The Gamecock is one of two SEC players to rank among the league’s top 15 in scoring, assists (11th, 2.7 apg) and steals (4th, 1.8 spg). Mitchell is also a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy and owns a spot on the Wade Trophy “Wade Watch”.
After joining the Gamecocks as the No. 1 recruit in the nation, Wilson lived up to the lofty expectations, garnering SEC Freshman of the Year honors and a First-Team All-SEC nod. She is the only freshman to rank among the SEC’s top 20 in scoring and rebounding, coming in 11th with 13.3 points per game and eighth with 6.8 boards per outing. Her efficiency is illustrated by her needing just 653 minutes to score her 424 points this season, including 218 points in just 329 minutes of SEC regular-season action. She has five double-doubles to her credit, including a South Carolina freshman record-setting 19-rebound performance in the season finale at No. 13/15 Kentucky, pairing with her 16 points. Wilson has reached double figures in 25 of 32 contests this season.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients.
In its third season, the Dawn Staley Award recognizes the nation’s best guard in Women’s Division I college basketball, exemplified by skills that Staley possessed – ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute and will to win. Mitchell was one of three finalists for the award last season. The award recipient will be announced during the weekend of the Final Four and honored at a ceremony at the prestigious Union League of Philadelphia on Fri., Apr. 17.
After earning an automatic bid with the program’s first ever SEC Tournament championship, the Gamecocks await their seeding and opponent in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show airs Mon. March 16, at 7 p.m. ESPN.
2015 Wooden Award National Ballot
Jillian Alleyne, Jr., F, Oregon
Brittany Boyd, Sr., G, California
Nina Davis, So., F Baylor
Reshanda Gray, Sr., F, California
Moriah Jefferson, Jr., G, Connecticut
Samantha Logic, Sr., G, Iowa
Jewell Loyd, Jr., G, Notre Dame
Kelsey Mitchell, Fr., G, Ohio State
Tiffany Mitchell, Jr., G, South Carolina
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Sr., F, Connecticut
Kelsey Plum, So., G, Washington
Breanna Stewart, Jr., F, Connecticut
Elizabeth Williams, Sr., C/F, Duke
A’ja Wilson, Fr., G/F, South Carolina
Amanda Zahui B., So., C, Minnesota
2015 Dawn Staley Award Finalists
Brittany Hrynko, DePaul
Jewel Loyd, Notre Dame
Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
