Harris Named to Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List
Gamecock junior makes second national award watch list this season.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior guard Tyasha Harris earned a spot on the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List as the Atlanta Tipoff Club tapped the top 50 female collegiate student-athletes in the nation. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the top men’s and women’s college and high school basketball student-athletes and coaches.
Harris has had the reins of the Gamecocks since midway through her freshman season and has steadily increased her production over her first two seasons in Garnet and Black. She led the SEC in assists last season, handing out 6.1 per game while averaging 10.4 points to earn a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and WBCA All-Region honors. She posted six double-doubles last season, the most points-assists double-doubles in a season in South Carolina history. After leading all SEC freshmen in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2016-17, she was second in the league last season at 2.4, which ranked her among the top 35 in the country. With 9.0 points and 6.3 assists per game to help the Gamecocks to their fourth-straight SEC Tournament title, she earned a spot on the 2018 All-Tournament.
On top of the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List, Harris was recently named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List in late October. The award, in its 20th season, recognizes the point guard who exhibits the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.
The Gamecocks boast one Citizen Naismith Trophy winner in program history after A’ja Wilson picked up the award last season. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is a two-time Naismith Trophy winner (1991, 1992).
The Citizen Naismith Trophy midseason 30 team will be announced on Feb. 11, 2019, and then the competition will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists on March 4, 2019. The four finalists will be named on March 22, 2019, and the winner of the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 6, 2019.
South Carolina hosts its home opener on Thu., Nov. 15, taking on Clemson at Colonial Life Arena. The game can be seen on the SEC Network starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Fans interested in buying season tickets for the Gamecocks’ 2018-19 season can find more information at http://www.itsgreattobeagamecock.com/wbb18/ or by calling the South Carolina Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-4SC-FANS (472-3267).
