March 20, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior guard Tiffany Mitchell is one of four finalists for the women’s Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Mitchell is the third Gamecock to earn the distinction, joining Shannon Johnson (1996) and Jocelyn Penn (2003).

Mitchell became the sixth woman in SEC history to earn back-to-back outright Player of the Year honors when the league office announced the coaches’ awards in early March. Her team-best 14.4 points per game are fifth in the SEC, and she ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.505) and third in free throw percentage (.840). The Gamecock is one of two SEC players to rank among the league’s top 15 in scoring, assists (11th, 2.7 apg) and steals (4th, 1.8 spg). Mitchell is also on the Wooden Award Women’s National Ballot, one of four finalists for the 2015 Dawn Staley Award and owns a spot on the Wade Trophy “Wade Watch”.

Mitchell is joined by Breanna Stewart (Connecticut), Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame) and Amanda Zahui B. (Minnesota) on the finalist list, which was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy based on individual performances throughout the 2014-15 regular season. The winner will be announced during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

For the 11th consecutive year, fans will have an opportunity to vote for the player of their choice and help determine the 2015 Naismith Trophy winner. Beginning March 23 and running through April 4, fans can cast their vote through the online and mobile optimized site www.NaismithVote.com. The fan vote represents 25 percent of the selection process – the largest fan impact of any collegiate basketball award.

The Gamecocks (30-2) earned the No. 1 seed in the Greensboro Region and will face 16th-seeded Savannah State (21-10) on tonight at 5 p.m. ET, at Colonial Life Arena in the NCAA Tournament opening round.