Oct. 23, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior guard Ieasia Walker earned preseason second-team All-SEC honors by voting of the league’s media members, the conference office announced today. Coming off a 2011-12 season that saw them finish tied for fourth and advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the Gamecocks were picked to finish seventh among the league’s now 14 teams.
Walker has been a driving force for the Gamecocks’ emergence the last seasons using both her scoring and distributing abilities. A two-time All-SEC selection, the 5-foot-8 senior led the team and was among the SEC’s top 20 scorers as a sophomore, posting 12.2 points per game. As a junior, the point guard allowed others to assume their more natural scoring roles, and Walker was among the SEC’s top 10 in assists and steals. In league games, she was even better, handing out 3.7 assists per game with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio, placing her fifth and fourth, respectively, in the conference. Walker continued to be a steady scorer at 7.9 points per game and contributed on the glass as well with 4.3 rebounds per outing for the season.
The Gamecocks will be led in 2012-13 by three seniors – Walker, forward Ashley Bruner and guard Sancheon White – this season, and the returning group of six letterwinners, which includes SEC All-Freshman selection Aleighsa Welch, has been bolstered by the arrival of five talented newcomers. Head coach Dawn Staley added both the Gatorade Players of the Year in North and South Carolina in Tiffany Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) and Asia Dozier (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley), a Parade All-American in Khadijah Sessions (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach), a JUCO All-American in Wilka Montout (Cayenne, French Guiana/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) and a top-30 point guard in Tiffany Davis (Houston, Texas/Westbury Christian).
South Carolina hosts Anderson in an exhibition game on Sun., Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena, for which admission is free. The regular season tips off on Fri., Nov. 9, against Elon at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.
Season tickets for women’s basketball are on sale now at www.GamecocksOnline.com or by calling 1-800-4SC-FANS. Prices start at $50 for general admission, or a Family Four-Pack of tickets is available for $100.
SEC Preseason Media Poll
League Finish
- Kentucky
- Georgia
- Vanderbilt
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- South Carolina
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Auburn
- Mississippi State
- Ole Miss
- Missouri
- Alabama
Preseason Player of the Year
A’dia Mathies
Preseason All-SEC First Team
Jennifer George, Florida
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Kelsey Christina Foggie, Vanderbilt
Preseason All-SEC Second Team
Sarah Watkins, Arkansas
Jasmie Hassell, Georgia
Samarie Walker, Kentucky
Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
Meighan Simmons, Tennessee
