Jan. 30, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior guard Tiffany Mitchell earned a spot on the 2015 Dawn Staley Award Watch List, the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia announced on Friday. In its third season, the award recognizes the nation’s best guard in Women’s Division I college basketball, exemplified by skills that Staley possessed – ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute and will to win. Mitchell was one of three finalists for the award last season.

Averaging 15.1 points per game this season, Mitchell leads the top-ranked Gamecocks and has been the team’s top scorer in eight contests. At the midway point of conference play, the guard is netting 15.4 points per outing to top the SEC. The Charlotte, N.C., native has reached double figures in 16 of 20 games, including three 20-point outings, and ranks in the SEC’s top 15 in assists as well, handing out 2.9 per game. Picking up where she left off after last season’s All-America campaign, Mitchell was named to the Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 earlier this month.

The Dawn Staley Award will be announced during Final Four weekend and the award ceremony will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia.

The Gamecocks kick off a stretch of three straight road contests at Ole Miss on Sun., Feb. 1, at 4:30 p.m., with ESPNU set for the broadcast. Following the game vs. the Rebels, the Gamecocks travel to face No. 21/20 Georgia on Thurs., Feb. 5, at 7 p.m., followed by the showdown vs. No. 2/2 Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., on Mon., Feb. 9, at 8 p.m.

2015 Dawn Staley Award Watch List
Aerial Powers, Michigan State
Allisha Gray, North Carolina
Amber Orrange, Stanford
Brittany Boyd, California
Brittany Hrynko, DePaul
Courtney Williams, South Florida
Damika Martinez, Iona
Jewell Lloyd, Notre Dame
Jordan Jones, Texas A&M
Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State
Kelsey Plum, Washington
Moniah Jefferson, Connecticut
Niya Johnson, Baylor
Samantha Logic, Iowa
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
Tyler Scaife, Rutgers