March 2, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior guard Valerie Nainima and freshman center Kelsey Bone were named to the All-SEC Second Team by vote of the league’s coaches, the conference office announced today. Bone was also on the league’s All-Freshman team. The tandem is the team’s top two scorers, as the Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 14-14 overall record and a 7-9 mark in league play to earn the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins on Thu., March 4, in Duluth, Ga. It is the first time two Gamecocks have appeared on the All-SEC team since Shaunzinski Gortman and Jocelyn Penn both earned first-team accolades in 2001-02.
Nainima leads the Gamecocks and ranks fourth in the SEC with 17.2 points per game. She is one of the nation’s most prolific 3-point shooters, netting 2.9 per game from outside the arc to rank 17th in the country. Her 81 3-pointers made is tied for fifth-most in a season by a Gamecock. She has amassed 10 20-point games and has not reached double-figure points just twice in 28 games. Her 15.7 points per game in league play are the fifth-most in the conference, and her 37.8 percent long-range accuracy against SEC opponents is eighth-best in the league.
Bone has turned in the highest scoring and rebounding numbers of any freshman in the conference, as her 13.8 points per game are ninth-most in the league and she is tied for the league lead with 9.2 rebounds per contest. Her rebounding average is among the nation’s top five and is the fifth-highest by a freshman. Bone has eight double-doubles this season, the most for a Gamecock freshman since Sheila Foster turned in 13 in her first collegiate season (1978-79). She has scored in double figures 20 times, including five 20-point games and a 32-point outing at Clemson, and pulled in double-digit boards 12 times this season. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week three times.
South Carolina opens SEC Tournament play on Thu., March 4, at noon against ninth-seeded Ole Miss. The game will air on FSN and ESPN360.com. The winner of the matchup faces top-seeded Tennessee on Fri., March 5, at noon.
2010 All-SEC First Team
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee*
Kelley Cain, Tennessee
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky*
Allison Hightower, LSU*
Ashley Houts, Georgia
Alexis Rack, Mississippi State
Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt
Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss
2010 All-SEC Second Team
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Kelsey Bone, South Carolina
Armelie Lumanu, Mississippi State
Merideth Marsh, Vanderbilt
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Valerie Nainima, South Carolina
Alli Smalley, Auburn
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
2010 SEC All-Freshman Team
Kelsey Bone, South Carolina*
Elan Brown, Vanderbilt
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt*
Jasmine James, Georgia*
Jennifer George, Florida
Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky*
Morgan Toles, Auburn
* indicates unanimous selection
Coach of the Year: Matthew Mitchell, Kentucky
Player of the Year: Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year: Aremlie Lumanu, Mississippi State
6th Woman of the Year: Alyssia Brewer, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
