Feb. 29, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Four South Carolina Gamecocks earned all-conference honors from the league coaches, the Southeastern Conference announced today. South Carolina’s trio of starting guards – seniors Markeshia Grant and La’Keisha Sutton and junior Ieasia Walker – claimed spots on the All-SEC Second Team, while freshman Aleighsa Welch was named to the All-Freshman Team. Sutton also captured a spot on the All-Defensive Team for her efforts as part of the nation’s fourth-ranked defense.
“I’m extremely happy for our players being recognized by the conference,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “They have led our team both on and off the floor throughout the season.”
Grant is the team’s top scorer on the season, ranking 23rd in the league with 10.8 points per game. A hot shooting streak midway through the SEC schedule catapulted her up the 3-point shooting chart to her current position of seventh in the league in both 3-point percentage (.357) and 3-pointers made per game (1.8). In SEC games only, she is second in the conference in both those categories, making 2.1 3s per league game shooting 38.2 percent. Grant earned USBWA National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 6 after her 27-point outing included seven 3s and led the Gamecocks past Tennessee for the first time since 1980.
Sutton is in the final month of a standout career in which she became just the 11th Gamecock to record 300 assists while scoring at least 1,000 points. She stands among the program’s top-20 scorers and is 12th in career assists. This season, she is the team’s top scorer in SEC games with 11.8 points per game to rank 12th in the league. She has scored in double figures 19 times through 29 games, including three 20-point outings, and been the team’s top scorer a team-high nine times. Sutton’s defensive effort helped the Gamecocks limit opponents to 48 points or less 12 times, including five SEC games. She was a key factor in holding four of the SEC’s top five scorers to nearly half their average output against the Gamecocks.
Walker has been the quarterback of the team this season, ranking seventh in the SEC in both assists (3.3) and steals (1.9) per game. Her 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is sixth-best in the league this season. She has led the team in assists a team-high 15 times and handed out five or more assists eight times, all while also scoring 7.8 points per game. In 16 SEC games, Walker handed out 3.7 assists while adding 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She put together a stretch of three league games in which she handed out 19 assists while not committing a turnover, including a six-assists, no-turnover outing at Tennessee.
Welch is the team’s top rebounder with 6.1 boards per game to go with her 8.2 points per game, which is third on the squad. She has led the team in rebounding 12 times this season, during which the Gamecocks went 11-1. She is the SEC’s top field goal percentage shooting, hitting 59.9 percent from the field, and is the second-best freshman rebounder in the league, ranking 12th overall. In SEC play, Welch pulled down seven or more rebounds seven times in her 14 outings.
South Carolina opens SEC Tournament action on Thu., March 1, in a 10 p.m. (ET) contest with 11th-seeded Alabama. The game from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville will air on SportSouth. The winner of the contest will take on No. 3-seed Georgia at 10 p.m. on Friday, also on SportSouth.
2012 All-SEC First Team
C’eira Rickets, Arkansas
Jennifer George, Florida
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
Christina Foggie, Vanderbilt
2012 All-SEC Second Team
Sarah Watkins, Arkansas
Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
Valencia McFarland, Ole Miss
Diamber Johnson, Mississippi State
Markeshia Grant, South Carolina
La’Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt
2012 SEC All-Freshman Team
Calli Berna, Arkansas
Hasina Muhammad, Auburn
Erika Ford, Georgia
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Martha Alwal, Mississippi State
Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina
Ariel Massengale, Tennessee
Kady Schrann, Vanderbilt
2012 SEC All-Defensive Team
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Porsha Porter, Mississippi State
La’Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Coach of the Year: Tom Collen, Arkansas
Player of the Year: A’dia Mathis, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Bria Goss, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year: Glory Johnson, Tennessee
6th Woman of the Year: Deana Allen, Florida; Keyla Snowden, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Blanche Alverson, Auburn
