Tiffany Mitchell Named to Wade Watch List
Feb. 10, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore Tiffany Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) was one of 10 players added to the Watch List for the 2014 State Farm Wade Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA Division I player each year. The complete watch list of now 35 will be trimmed to 12 finalists in mid-March. It is the second watch list for Mitchell this season as she earned a spot on the Dawn Staley Award list this month as well.
“Tiffany has come into this season so focused on helping us win each game that it has made her one of the most efficient players in the country,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m really happy she was added to this list because now the rest of the country will get a glimpse of how fortunate we are to have her as a Gamecock.”
Mitchell is among the most versatile players in the SEC, ranking as one of just two in the league to place among its top 15 in scoring, steals and assists. Her 15.1 points per game (10th in SEC) includes a pair of 20-point games and 21 double-digit scoring showings in 24 outings this season. Mitchell, who helped clinch the win at then-No. 16/19 Vanderbilt with a layup off a steal, is fourth in the SEC with 2.3 swipes per game. She picked a career-high six at Auburn and has three other games with at least five steals. Her 3.5 assists per game are 14th in the conference, and her total of 80 this season have come behind five games of five or more, highlighted by a career-high nine at San Diego State.
Always the first to put in extra time in the gym practicing, Mitchell has seen the fruits of her work in better offensive efficiency this year. Shooting 52.5 percent from the field, she is three made field goals shy of qualifying for the SEC rankings, but would rank second in the conference in the category and would be the league’s only guard shooting over 50.0 percent from the field. The wisdom of her shot selection shows best in her 55.1 percent shooting (27-of-49) from 3-point range after shooting 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from behind the arc last season.
No. 5 South Carolina is back in action on Sun., Feb. 16, at No. 19 LSU and faces one more road game before returning to Colonial Life Arena on Sun., Feb. 23, against Florida.
2014 State Farm Wade Watch List (new additions noted by *)
Natalie Achonwa, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Rachel Banham, Jr., G, Minnesota
*Tiffany Bias, Sr., G, Oklahoma State
Brittany Boyd, Jr., G, California
Gennifer Brandon, Sr., F, California
*Hallie Christofferson, Sr., F, Iowa State
Jerica Coley, Sr., G, FIU
Stefanie Dolson, Sr., C, Connecticut
Aaryn Ellenberg, Sr., G, Oklahoma
*Christina Foggie, Sr., G, Vanderbilt
*Markeisha Gatling, Sr., C, NC State
Bashaara Graves, So., F, Tennessee
Chelsea Gray, Sr., G, Duke
*Dearica Hamby, Jr., F, Wake Forest
Bria Hatley, Sr., G, Connecticut
Jordan Hooper, Sr., F, Nebraska
*Natasha Howard, Sr., F, Florida State
*Alexis Jones, So., G, Duke
*Tricia Liston, Sr., G, Duke
*Jewell Loyd, So., G, Notre Dame
Maggie Lucas, Sr., G, Penn State
Tyuanna Marshall, Sr., G, Georgia Tech
Kayla McBride, So., G, Notre Dame
*Tiffany Mitchell, So., G, South Carolina
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Jr., F, Connecticut
Chiney Ogwumike, Sr., F, Stanford
Theresa Plaisance, Sr., F, LSU
Ebony Rowe, Sr., F, Middle Tennessee
Shone Schimmel, Sr., G, Louisville
Meighan Simmons, Sr., G, Tennessee
Odyssey Sims, Sr., G, Baylor
DeNesha Stallworth, Sr., F, Kentucky
Breanna Stewart, So., F, Connecticut
Alyssa Thomas, Sr., F, Maryland
Elizabeth Williams, Jr., C/F, Duke
