Feb. 27, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina junior forward A’ja Wilson has been tabbed the SEC Player of the Week, the league announced Monday morning. Wilson is the third player to earn a weekly conference honor this season for the No. 7/7 Gamecocks, who captured their fourth-straight SEC Regular-Season Title after topping No. 22/- Kentucky 95-87 Sunday.
The Hopkins, S.C., native willed the Gamecocks to another league championship after leading the team in points and rebounds in Carolina’s final two contests of the regular season. Wilson set the tone early in the Gamecocks’ 80-64 victory Texas A&M last Thursday with 12 points and 10 boards in the first half, and she finished the contest with a season-best 15 rebounds to go with 21 points.
The forward again paced the Gamecock offense this weekend against the Wildcats, finishing with a team-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting. She added 10 rebounds to notch her second-straight double-double, and the junior totaled eight fourth-quarter points after not missing a shot over the final 10 minutes.
Wilson, who has scored at least 20 points in three-straight games for the first time in her career, finished the regular season ranked in the top five in the SEC in points per game (17.4, 3rd) and field goal percentage (.591, 4th). Her 7.6 rebounds stood as the ninth-best mark among conference members, and she ranked third in the SEC with 2.2 blocks per game.
Wilson and the top-seeded Gamecocks begin play at the 2017 SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., on Fri., March 3, in the quarterfinal round. Carolina’s opponent will be determined in Thursday’s second-round action, and the game will tip off at Noon on SEC Network.
