March 14, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior guards Markeshia Grant and La’Keisha Sutton earned honorable mention All-SEC honors from the Associated Press, the organization announced this week. Grant and Sutton captured second-team nods from the league’s coaches earlier this season, and Sutton became the first Gamecock to earn a spot on the league’s All-Defensive Team as chosen by the league coaches.
Grant is the team’s top scorer on the season, ranking 21st in the league with 10.6 points per game. For the season, she is among the SEC’s top 10 long-range shooters, hitting 1.7 3-pointers per game with a 35.0 3-point shooting percentage. In league games only, those numbers went up to 2.1 made 3s per game and 38.2 percent accuracy, both of which were second-best in the conference. Grant has scored in double figures 17 times in 32 games this season, including five 20-point outings. Her individual highlight of the season was a 27-point outing, including seven 3s, at Tennessee, to lead the Gamecocks past the Lady Vols in Knoxville for the first time in school history. The singular effort earned her USBWA National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 6.
Sutton is capping off a standout career in which she became just the 11th Gamecock to record 300 assists while scoring at least 1,000 points. She is also one of just 11 in the program’s history that have started at least 100 games in her career. This season, Sutton as been the team’s top scorer a team-best 10 times and has scored in double figures in 21 of 32 games. Her 10.5 points per game rank 25th in the SEC. All-time Sutton stands among the program’s top-20 scorers and is 12th in career assists.
South Carolina opens NCAA Tournament action on Sat., March 17, against Eastern Michigan. Tipoff at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., is set for 11 a.m. (ET), and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
2012 All-SEC First Team
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Christina Foggie, Vanderbilt
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
2012 All-SEC Second Team
Jennifer George, Florida
C’eira Ricketts, Arkansas
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
Valencia McFarland, Ole Miss
2012 All- SEC Honorable Mention
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Markeshia Grant, South Carolina
Stephanie Holzer, Vanderbilt
Diamber Johnson, Mississippi State
Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt
Khaalidah Miller, Georgia
La’Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Matthew Mitchell, Kentucky
Player of the Year: A’dia Mathis, Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year: Bria Goss, Kentucky
