Feb. 6, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina senior guard Markeshia Grant was named the SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced today. The Gamecocks’ top scorer poured in a career-high 27 points in South Carolina’s first win over Tennessee in Knoxville Thursday night. Grant’s seven 3-pointers in the outing were two shy of the school record.

“I’m so happy for Markeshia, who has been shooting the ball extremely well,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “She ignited our offense and helped put us in a great position to beat Tennessee.”

Grant hit the first of her career-best seven 3s in the game’s first minute and piled up 15 of the team’s 29 first-half points. She capped her scoring with a 3-pointer in transition that brought the Gamecocks within two points with 3:59 to play. Grant finished the game shooting 7-of-12 from behind the arc and 10-of-21 overall.

Over the last four games, Grant has shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range to move into 11th in the SEC in 3-point percentage in league games and second in 3-pointers made per conference contest (2.1). She has made 4.0 3-pointers per game during that stretch as well to average 18.0 points per game.

Last week’s win was the Gamecocks’ fourth straight in league play, the longest since 2005-06, and the first over Tennessee since January 1980. The team’s 18 wins this season matches the most of the Staley era, and the Gamecocks have six regular-season games left on the schedule.

South Carolina is back in action on Thu., Feb, 9, at Arkansas before returning to Colonial Life Arena for a 5 p.m. tipoff against Florida on Sun., Feb. 12.