Khadijah Sessions

Career Summary

• Holds school record for games played in a season and has two spots among the program’s single-season top five for games started
• Three-year starter at point guard, leading her team to three SEC regular-season championships — the first in program history
• Twice voted team captain by her teammates
• Led team in steals her junior and senior seasons
• Enjoyed her most productive offensive season as a senior, shooting a career-best 44.8 percent from the field, and was even more efficient in SEC play with 7.4 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting to help team post just the second 16-0 record in league history
• Paced the team in assists 33 times in her career, including 13 games of handing out five or more

Awards

Senior Year (2015-16)
SEC Community Service Team
SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll

Junior Year (2014-15)
SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll

Sophomore Year (2013-14)
SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll

Freshman Year (2012-13)
SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

High School
Parade All-America (2011-12)
South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A South Carolina Player of the Year (2011-12)

In the Record Books

Career
4th — Games played in a career (134)
5th — Games played in an SEC career (62)

Season
1st — Games played in a season (37 in 2014-15)
4th — Games started in a season (36 in 21014-15)
5th — Games started in a season (35 in 2015-16)
Most games played in a junior season (37 in 2014-15)

Senior Year (2015-16)

• Selected team captain
• Ranked fourth in SEC in steals in league play (2.1) and was fifth overall (2.1)
• Led the team in assists 11 times — Ohio State, at Clemson, at Hawaii, Winthrop, Elon, Arkansas, Ole Miss, UConn, Florida, at Alabama, Jacksonville — and handed out five or more assists three times this season
• Was outstanding defensively throughout the SEC Tournament while scoring in double figures the last two games — shot 53.8 percent from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, for 8.7 points per game at the event
• Tallied seven of her 11 points in the SEC Tournament final against #16/16 Mississippi State (Mar. 6) in the first quarter, including the first two and the last three of a 10-2 run in the final 1:47 of the period to give the Gamecocks a 20-15 lead heading, and held Bulldog top scorer Victoria Vivians scoreless in the fourth quarter to stymie any comeback
• Was aggressive on the boards at Alabama (Feb. 22), collecting a career-best 11 rebound, including six in the first quarter
• Set the defensive tone against Georgia (Feb. 18), totaling career-best six steals, the last of which set up a layup with 1:22 left as key part of final 11-6 run that sealed the win
• Scored four of her season-high 13 points at #24/- Tennessee (Feb. 15) from the free throw line in the final 39 seconds to hold off a late rally by the Lady Vols
• Knocked down a 70-foot, third-quarter buzzer beater to give the Gamecocks momentum and a 57-53 lead over #18/18 Kentucky (Feb. 4) heading into the final period
• Finished in double figures at #10/10 Texas A&M (Jan. 31), capping off South Carolina’s 10-0 fourth-quarter run with a layup in transition for a 60-54 lead midway through the period and hit a pair of free throws in the final 1:00 to help seal the win
• Continued her clutch shooting with a pair of midrange jumpers in the final 2:34 at #10/10 Mississippi State (Jan. 24), including one with 30 seconds to go in a two-point game
• Bounced back from early thigh contusion against #15/11 Texas A&M (Jan. 17) to swipe two of her four steals in the final 5:12 then sink the game-winning free throw with less than a second to play
• Scored five of her eight points against #9/9 Kentucky (Jan. 14) in the fourth quarter, scoring four points of a 6-0 run that brought Gamecocks within one late in the third quarter then knocking down a fourth-quarter 3-pointer as part of the 15-2 run that won the game
• Great ball pressure against #20/- Missouri (Jan. 10) helped harass Tigers into 20 turnovers
• Hit a pair of clutch fourth-quarter 3-pointers at Vanderbilt (Jan. 7), the first coming in a one-point game with 4:00 to play and the second after `Dores drew within three inside 2:00 left
• Was critical to 20-2 run that opened second quarter against Arkansas (Jan. 3), making two key defensive plays and handing out assists on two of the three 3-pointers that launched the surge
• Served as a catalyst for the South Carolina offense against Winthrop (Dec. 13), dishing out six assists
• Matched career highs in steals (4) and minutes played (37) against #14/13 Duke (Dec. 6), picking up last two steals in final 5:03 to spark 15-5 run that turned one-point deficit into victory
• At Rainbow Wahine Showdown, averaged 8.3 points on 56.3 percent shooting (9-of-16) to go with eight steals
• Scored all 11 points at Hawaii (Nov. 29) in the second half, including nine during a 17-6 run to close the third quarter after UH had closed within five
• Grabbed three offensive rebounds against #16/18 Arizona State (Nov. 27)
• Swiped four steals against #6/10 Ohio State (Nov. 13) and applied pressure to the Buckeyes’ defense early with strong drives to the basket

Junior Year (2014-15)

• Played in every game, starting all but the season opener
• Ranked 11th in the SEC in assists (2.8) and 10th in steals (1.8)
• Led the team in assists 11 times — NC Central, Charlotte, at Hampton, Auburn, at Alabama, at Missouri, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State, vs. Tennessee
• Tied her career high with four steals against #7/7 Florida State (Mar. 29), including one she converted into a layup at the buzzer to cap the Gamecocks’ comeback in the NCAA regional final
• Sparked 20-1 second-half run against Savannah State (Mar. 20) with back-to-back steals converted into layups as defense locked down for first time
• Shot 60.0 percent (3-of-5) from 3-point range and committed just two turnovers in SEC Tournament (3 games)
• Tied career high with three 3s in SEC Tournament championship game against #5/5 Tennessee (Mar. 8), including two early in the first half to establish herself as an offensive threat and stretch the defense
• Tied for team-high honors with four assists against #6/6 Tennessee (Feb. 23) without committing a turnover in 33 minutes of action
• Posted five points and three steals in first four minutes at Arkansas (Feb. 19) en route to best all-around game of the season
• Set the tone defensively against #12/10 Texas A&M (Jan. 26) with two of her career-high tying four steals coming in the opening three minutes of the game
• Tied career high with three 3s against #10/11 Kentucky (Jan. 11), including one off balance at the end of the shot clock to turn a four-point lead into seven midway through the second half
• Swiped four steals at Alabama (Jan. 8), including back-to-back possessions to spark first-half run that broke open game
• Swiped one of her three steals late in the comeback at #9/8 Duke and was part of the double-team that generated Olivia Gaines’ steal in the last 20 seconds that set up the game-winning play
• Capped the 11-0 comeback run late against #22/22 Syracuse (Nov. 28) with a transition layup
• Hit a clutch 3-pointer to start a 14-0 run that erased a Southern Cal (Nov. 15) lead with seven minutes left and put the game out of reach

Sophomore Year (2013-14)

• Played in 29 games, starting the first 10 games then missing five with an ankle injury before returning to starting lineup at Vanderbilt (Jan. 26)
• Ranked 13th in SEC in free throw percentage (.718)
• Led the team in assists eight times — LA Tech, CofC, Seton Hall, NC Central, at Auburn, at Texas A&M, Missouri, at Tenn.)
• Scored in double figures for first time in NCAA Tournament with 13 against Oregon State (Mar. 25), hitting 6-of-8 from the free throw line, while also helping shut down Beavers’ top scorer
• Hit 4-of-4 free throws in final 94 seconds to help ice win over CSU Northridge (Mar. 23) in NCAA Tournament opener
• Was perfect 3-of-3 from outside the arc for season-high 18 points at #15/15 Kentucky (Feb. 20), including two 3s in second half to hold off Wildcats
• Scored four of her nine points at #19/17 LSU (Feb. 16) from the free throw line on a pair of 1-and-1 opportunities late in the second half to hold off Lady Tigers
• Netted double figures for third-straight game at Mississippi State (Feb. 6), including pair of free throws in final minute to seal win
• Hit a pair of free throws on a 1-and-1 opportunity to seal win at #16/19 Vanderbilt (Jan. 26)
• Picked up steal after forcing a jump ball with Gamecocks down by three with 15 seconds left at #25/21 Texas A&M (Jan. 16) to set up Tiffany Mitchell’s game-tying 3 with six seconds to play
• Logged 28 minutes at Auburn (Jan. 12), the most since returning from injury, hitting a clutch 3 after Tigers had tied game for fourth time with seven minutes to play then iced win with a pair of free throws in final minute

Freshman Year (2012-13)

• Played in every game, starting three SEC contests
• Led the team in scoring three times — at Florida, Auburn, at Missouri
• Paced the team in assists three times — Furman, at Florida, at Missouri
• Scored in double figures six times
• Shot career-best 4-of-5 in second-round SEC Tournament game against Alabama (March 7), scoring seven of her 11 points in the second half
• Drained a 3 from the right corner to start a personal 5-0 run after Florida (March 3) had come within two midway through the second half, adding 5-of-6 free throw attempts in the period
• Swiped all of her career-high four steals in the first half against Mississippi State (Feb. 24), including three in the game’s first three minutes … earned first career start at Ole Miss (Feb. 17), adding 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting
• Scored 14 of her career-high 19 points against Auburn (Feb. 3) in the second half, shooting 8-of-9 from free throw line for the game, including 6-of-7 in final 90 seconds to help seal victory
• Was solid secondary ball-handler against the pressure of #5/4 Kentucky (Jan. 24), committing no turnovers in 26 minutes off the bench, while adding eight pints, including a free throw in the final 11 seconds to help deliver the victory
• Took advantage of a career-high 28 minutes at Florida (Jan. 20) to lead the team in scoring, hitting 6-of-10 from the free throw line, including three in the final 30 seconds to help seal the victory
• Hit all four free throws in the final two minutes against Vanderbilt (Jan. 10) to stymie any ideas of a late comeback for the Commodores

High School

• Rated the No. 7 point guard in the class of 2012 and the No. 40 player overall by ESPN Hoopgurlz
• Earned Parade All-America honors in 2012
• Named Class AAA Player of the Year by both the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association and the South Carolina Coaches Association for Women’s Sports as a senior (2011-12)
• Four-time SCBCA All-State selection
• Became first player to be selected Miss Hoop Zone by WPDE-TV three times (2009, 2010, 2012)
• Helped team to back-to-back Class AAA state championships as a sophomore and junior
• Averaged 29.5 points and 9.0 rebounds her senior season
• Ranked fifth in state history with 3,020 career points
• Played six seasons for Brian Kiper’s Myrtle Beach High Seahawks

Personal

• Daughter of Michelle Sessions and Troy McCollum, has an older sister, Dasha McCollum, and two younger brothers, Tre McCollum and Keyonte’ Sessions
• Received her bachelor’s degree in hospitality, restaurant, tourism management in May 2016