Nov. 17, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley continued to cement her foothold on the state’s elite talent with the announcement that Khadijah Sessions (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play for the Gamecocks. She will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

“Khadijah is a South Carolina kid we’ve been recruiting for the past three years,” Staley said. “She’s a competitor. She does all the little things. She’s aggressive on both sides of the basketball. She’s a scoring point guard – can take it to the basket and knock down the open three. As a point guard, you want people who want to line up with you, and she definitely brings that to our basketball team.”

A 5-foot-6 point guard, Sessions was rated the seventh-best in the class at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz and the 40th-best player in the class overall. She averaged 17.9 points and 5.7 assists as a junior while leading the Seahawks to their second-straight AAA state championship, both of which were claimed in her future home of Colonial Life Arena. A member of the all-state team, Sessions also captured all-region honors last season.

Sessions joins Staley’s other three early signees – Tiffany Davis (Houston, Texas/Westbury Christian), Asia Dozier (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) and Tiffany Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day).