Dec. 26, 2005

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina freshman forward Demetress Adams was recognized as both the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and the SEC Freshman of the Week after she posted her second and third double-doubles of the year in a pair of Gamecock wins over Savannah State and Bethune-Cookman last week.

Adams becomes the first Gamecock since Jocelyn Penn in 2003 to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week and is the first Carolina rookie ever to be honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week, as the conference just began recognizing a Freshman of the Week for the first time this year. She is the first freshman to be recognized as SEC Player of the Week since Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey last season.

The Bishopville, S.C., native matched a career high with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in only 18 minutes of action against Savannah State, then came back two nights later to score 12 points and grab 10 rebounds in 26 minutes of action against Bethune-Cookman. Adams converted on 61.1 percent of her field goal attempts and blocked five shots in the two games. On the year, the freshman leads the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) and ranks second on the team with 19 blocked shots and 19 steals.

In receiving the honor, Adams becomes just the ninth Gamecock ever to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week, joining Marsha Williams, Shannon Johnson, Annie Lester, Teresa Geter, Kelly Morrone, Shaun Gortman, Cristina Ciocan and Penn as the only Gamecocks to ever receive the accolade.

Adams and the rest of the Gamecocks return to action when they host Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 at the Colonial Center.