Valerie Nainima

Spurs Up Blog: Know a Gamecock – Valerie Nainima Q&A

Career Capsule
Saw her time in the Garnet and Black shortened by a torn ACL late in the summer between her junior and senior seasons, but fought to come back for the final three months of her senior season … ranks among the program’s most prolific 3-point shooters, standing eighth with 115 career triples, 10th with 340 career 3-point attempts and fourth in career 3-point percentage (.338) … team was 8-2 in games in which she scored 20 or more points … second-team All-SEC selection by the league’s coaches her junior year when she ranked fifth in the league in scoring … was 17th in the country and fourth in the SEC in 3-point field goals made per game (2.8) as a junior … led the team in points and assists per game in her first season (2009-10).

Senior Year (2010-11)
Made her season debut on Dec. 12 against NC State just 4-1/2 months after surgery to repair a torn ACL in her right knee … ranked 10th in the SEC with 1.6 3-pointers made per league game … started 15 of the last 17 games … shot a team-high 29.7 percent from 3-point range … hit 3-of-4 from 3-point range against Auburn, including back-to-back in a late first-half run to give team lead it would not relinquish, and added four free throws to hold off a late Tiger run for her second-straight 15-point game … caught fire at #4/4 Tennessee with a season-high 15 points on four 3-pointers, including 11 second-half points … buried three 3-pointers in the second half at Mississippi State to drive the rally … scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half at Arkansas, during which she netted three 3-pointers, including one in the final 20 seconds as the Gamecocks erased a seven-point deficit in the final 90 seconds to send the game to overtime … scored seven of her 11 points in the overtime period at Ole Miss, draining a pair of clutch 3-pointers and hitting a free throw to seal the win … scored a season-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a pair of deep jumpers at the end of the shot clock, at Kentucky in her first start of the season … hit a pair of key 3-pointers late in the tight game against Florida … pulled down a season-high four rebounds at Georgia … turned in her best scoring game of the season with a team-high 12 points, including three 3-pointers, against South Carolina State, while handing out three assists … played a season-high 19 minutes against Presbyterian … hit the first shot she took – a 3-pointer, just seconds after entering the game – and went on to score eight points and hand out three assists against NC State.

Junior Year (2009-10)
Named second-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches … ranked fifth in the SEC in scoring … scored in double figures 27 times, including 10 games of 20 or more points … was 17th in the country and fourth in the SEC in 3-point field goals made per game (2.8) … tied her career high with five rebounds to go with her 10 points in the first round SEC Tournament game against Ole Miss … led the team with 2.8 assists per game … netted 23 points, including four 3-pointers, and tied her career high with five rebounds at No. -/22 Vanderbilt … led the team with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, against No. 24/24 Georgia while handing out three assists … hit a team-high 16 points against Arkansas … led the team with 15 points, including three 3-pointers against Mississippi State … scored a game-high 21 points at No. 14/14 Georgia … netted 20 points at Auburn to go with two assists and two steals … added four 3-pointers en route to 16 points against No. 5/5 Tennessee … led team with 17 points and dished four assists against Ole Miss … added 12 points at Florida … scored a season-best six 3-pointers, including two in the final 30 seconds of the first half, against Auburn, scoring 20 points in the outing while dishing out four assists … handed out seven assists while scoring 14 points against Kentucky … led the team with 21 points, hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range, at Alabama for her sixth 20-point game of the season … netted a team-high 16 points at No. 4/4 Tennessee, including four 3-pointers … saddled with foul trouble against No. 11/12 LSU but still led the team with 13 points … paced the offense with 17 points against Brown … scored a season-high 29 points and tied for team-high honors against Boston U, during which her 17 3-point attempts tied for second-most in school history … posted her fourth 20-point game with 26 against No. 9/10 North Carolina, using a personal 10-0 run to bring the Gamecocks within five points at halftime and hitting a season-high five 3-pointers in the game all while dishing out a season-best nine assists … led the team with 27 points against NC State to go with a season-high five rebounds … netted seven buckets en route to 20 points against High Point … earned a spot on the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team after leading the team with 13.3 points and 3.3 assists per game at the event … scored a team-high 15 points against No. 5/6 Notre Dame … buried four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 18 points and picked up three steals against Penn State … netted 19 points and grabbed two offensive rebounds at Clemson … tied for team-high honors with 22 points at Charlotte, hitting 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

2008-09 Sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.

At Long Island
Played two years for the Blackbirds and was the fastest player in LIU history to reach 1,000 career points, hitting the milestone on Feb. 9, 2008, in just her 53rd career game … was named All-Northeastern Conference after averaging 20.4 points per game on 34.3 percent shooting, including 41.0 percent from the 3-point line … helped the team to a program-best record of 27-8 and a spot in the conference championship game … earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team … became the first player in conference history to earn player of the year and rookie of the year honors in the same season when she swept the awards her freshman year behind 17.8 points per game, the highest scoring average of any freshman in the nation.

High School
Played for the Fijian National Team and the U-20 team … averaged 23 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists at the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games, helping her team to the gold medal … Led Fiji to a gold medal at the 2007 South Pacific Games, averaging 25.7 points per game … also played volleyball and netball in high school.