Feb. 13, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior Tiffany Mitchell and freshman A’ja Wilson were added to another national award watch list on Thursday when the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Late Season Top 20 was released by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. South Carolina is one of four schools with multiple athletes on the watch list and accounts for two of the SEC’s three entries among the 20 selections.
Both Mitchell and Wilson were included on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 last month and were joined by Gamecock senior Aleighsa Welch on the Naismith Trophy Midseason 30 earlier this week. Mitchell, who was one of 15 included on the Wooden National Ballot last season, is also one of 16 guards on the Dawn Staley Award Watch List this season.
Mitchell leads the Gamecocks with 14.8 points per game, a total that ranks fifth in the SEC, while posting the top field goal percentage in the league at 51.7 percent. She has posted double figures in 20 of this season’s 24 contests and has led the team in scoring on nine occasions. The reigning SEC Player of the Year also ranks in the SEC’s top 15 in assists (2.8) and steals (1.9) per game.
A four-time SEC Freshman of the Week, Wilson is second on the team in points (13.6) and rebounds (7.0) per game. She’s the only freshman in the SEC to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding, landing a top-10 spot in both categories. The Hopkins, S.C., native, has scored at least 10 points in 20 games this season and has led the Gamecocks in scoring a team-high 11 times after netting a career-high 26 points in a 86-62 win over LSU on Thursday night. Wilson is one of three freshmen on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.
The Gamecocks continue conference play at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday with a noon tip vs. Vanderbilt. ESPNU is set to broadcast the game.
John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20
Jillian Alleyne, Jr., F, Oregon
Brittany Boyd, Sr., G, California
Nina Davis, So., F, Baylor
Alisha Gray, So., G, North Carolina
Reshanda Gray, Sr., F, California
Dearica Hamby, Sr., F, Wake Forest
Isabelle Harrison, Sr., C, Tennessee
Brittany Hrynko, Sr. G, DePaul
Moriah Jefferson, Jr., G, Connecticut
Samantha Logic, Sr., G, Iowa
Jewell Loyd, Jr., G, Notre Dame
Kelsey Mitchell, Fr., G, Ohio State
Tiffany Mitchell, Jr., G, South Carolina
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Sr., F, Connecticut
Kelsey Plum, So., G, Washington
Breanna Stewart, Jr., F, Connecticut
Breanna Turner, Fr., F, Notre Dame
Elizabeth Williams, Sr., C/F, Duke
A’ja Wilson, Fr., G/F, South Carolina
Amanda Zahui B., So., C, Minnesota
