SOUTH CAROLINA Women s Basketball

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SOUTH CAROLINA Women s Basketball"

Ethelbert Bradford
5 years ago
Views:

1 SOUTH CAROLINA Women s Basketball The University Location... Columbia, S.C. Founded Enrollment...33,724 Nickname... Gamecocks Colors...Garnet (PMS 202C) and Black Home Court (Capacity)...Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Conference...Southeastern President...Dr. Harris Pastides Faculty Athletics Representative...Dr. Valinda Littlefield Athletics Director... Ray Tanner Senior Woman Administrator... Judy Van Horn Women s Basketball Administrator... Charles Waddell Team Information Overall Record Home Away Neutral SEC Record / Finish / 1st Home Away Postseason...NCAA Sweet 16 Final National Rank (AP/USA Today)... 3/5 Starters Returning/Lost... 2/3 Letterwinners Returning/Lost... 6/9 Newcomers... 7 (1 will sit out, NCAA transfer) Media Relations Asst. AD/Media Relations...Steve Fink Associate Director/Women s Basketball Contact... Diana Koval ...dkoval@mailbox.sc.edu Office Cell Media Relations Phone Mailing Address...Rice Athletics Center 1304 Heyward St. Columbia, SC Press Row Phone Women s Basketball Radio Station... WNKT (107.5 FM) Play-by-Play...Brad Muller Women s Basketball Staff Head Coach... Dawn Staley Alma Mater... Virginia, 1992 Overall Record / Seasons (.698) / 16 seasons School Record / Seasons (.712) / 8 seasons Associate Head Coach...Lisa Boyer Alma Mater... Ithaca, 1979 Seasons at South Carolina... Eight Assistant Coach...Nikki McCray-Penson Alma Mater... Tennessee, 1995 Seasons at South Carolina... Eight Assistant Coach... Fred Chmiel Alma Mater... Excelsior, 2001 Seasons at South Carolina...One Director of Basketball Operations... Cynthia Jordan Alma Mater... Temple, 2004 Athletic Trainer... Marcella Shorty Strength & Conditioning Coach... Katie Fowler Special Assistant to Head Coach... Ariana Moore Administrative Assistant... Dianne Palmer Basketball Office Phone Best Time to Call... Contact Media Relations Program History First Year of Women s Basketball All-Time Overall Record (.603) / 42 seasons All-Time Record at Colonial Life Arena (.737) / 14 seasons NCAA Appearances / Last / 2016 NCAA Tournament Record Last NCAA Result Sweet 16 L,72-80, Syracuse, 3/25/16 WNIT Appearances / Last... 4 / 2011 WNIT Record All-Time SEC Record (.424) / 25 seasons SEC Championships... 3 (2014, 2015, 2016) SEC Tournament Championships... 2 (2015, 2016) Conference Championships...8 (SEC 2014, 2015, 2016; Metro 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991) @DawnStaley Facebook... YouTube...

2 Roster Breakdown Starters Returning (2) 22 A ja Wilson F 6-5 Jr. Hopkins, S.C Alaina Coates C 6-4 Sr. Irmo, S.C Other Returning Letterwinners (4) 1 Bianca Cuevas-Moore G 5-6 Jr. Bronx, N.Y Doniyah Cliney G 6-0 So. Newark, N.J Tiffany Davis* G 5-7 Sr. Houston, Texas * indicates will sat out season due to injury, stats are from Newcomers (7) No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/Previous School 12 Araion Bradshaw G 5-6 Fr. Hyde Park, Mass./Tabor Academy 35 Kaela Davis# G 6-2 Jr. Suwanee, Ga./Georgia Tech 10 Allisha Gray# G 6-0 Jr. Sandersville, Ga./North Carolina 21 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan F 6-2 Fr. Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan 52 Tyasha Harris G 5-10 Fr. Noblesville, Ind./Heritage Christian 35 Alexis Jennings& F 6-2 Jr. Madison, Ala./Kentucky 0 Victoria Patrick G 5-8 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Edgewater # indicates sat out season due to NCAA transfer rules & indicates will sit out season due to NCAA transfer rules Starters Lost (3) 5 Khadijah Sessions G 5-8 Sr. Myrtle Beach, S.C Tiffany Mitchell G 5-9 Sr. Charlotte, N.C Asia Dozier G 6-0 Sr. Columbia, S.C Other Letterwinners Lost (5) 0 Shay Colley G 5-8 Fr. Brampton, Ontario Kaydra Duckett G 5-8 So. Columbia, S.C Tina Roy G 5-11 Sr. Kaplan, La Sarah Imovbioh F 6-2 Sr. Abuja, Nigeria Jatarie White F 6-4 So. Charlotte, N.C India Farmer G 6-0 Sr. N. Myrtle Beach, S.C

3 Roster Numerical No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/Previous School 0 Victoria Patrick G 5-8 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Edgewater 1 Bianca Cuevas-Moore G 5-6 Jr. Bronx, N.Y./Nazareth Regional 3 Kaela Davis G 6-2 Jr. Suwanee, Ga./Georgia Tech 4 Doniyah Cliney G 6-0 So. Newark, N.J./Malcolm X Shabazz 10 Allisha Gray G 6-0 Jr. Sandersville, Ga./North Carolina 12 Araion Bradshaw G 5-6 Fr. Hyde Park, Mass./Tabor Academy 15 Tiffany Davis G 5-7 Sr. Houston Texas/Westbury Christian 21 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan F 6-2 Fr. Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan 22 A ja Wilson F 6-5 Jr. Hopkins, S.C./Heathwood Hall 35 Alexis Jennings* F 6-2 Jr. Madison, Ala./Kentucky 41 Alaina Coates C 6-4 Sr. Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork 52 Tyasha Harris G 5-10 Fr. Noblesville, Ind./Heritage Christian Alphabetical No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/Previous School 12 Araion Bradshaw G 5-6 Fr. Hyde Park, Mass./Tabor Academy 4 Doniyah Cliney G 6-0 So. Newark, N.J./Malcolm X Shabazz 41 Alaina Coates C 6-4 Sr. Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork 1 Bianca Cuevas-Moore G 5-6 Jr. Bronx, N.Y./Nazareth Regional 3 Kaela Davis G 6-2 Jr. Suwanee, Ga./Georgia Tech 15 Tiffany Davis G 5-7 Sr. Houston Texas/Westbury Christian 10 Allisha Gray G 6-0 Jr. Sandersville, Ga./North Carolina 21 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan F 6-2 Fr. Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan 52 Tyasha Harris G 5-10 Fr. Noblesville, Ind./Heritage Christian 35 Alexis Jennings* F 6-2 Jr. Madison, Ala./Kentucky 0 Victoria Patrick G 5-8 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Edgewater 22 A ja Wilson F 6-5 Jr. Hopkins, S.C./Heathwood Hall * indicates will sit out season due to NCAA transfer rules Head Coach: Dawn Staley (Virginia, 1992) Associate Head Coach: Lisa Boyer (Ithaca, 1979) Assistant Coaches: Nikki McCray (Tennessee, 1995), Fred Chmiel (Excelsior, 2001) Director of Basketball Operations: Cynthia Jordan (Temple, 2004) Athletic Trainer: Marcella Shorty (New Mexico, 1990) Strength & Conditioning: Katie Fowler (Truman State, 2008) By Eligibility Seniors (3): Alaina Coates, Tiffany Davis. Juniors (5): Bianca Cuevas-Moore, Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray, Alexis Jennings, A ja Wilson. Sophomores (1): Doniyah Cliney. Freshmen (4): Araion Bradshaw, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Tyasha Harris, Victoria Patrick. By Position Guards (9): Araion Bradshaw, Doniyah Cliney, Bianca Cuevas-Moore, Kaela Davis, Tiffany Davis, Allisha Gray, Tyasha Harris, Victoria Patrick. Forwards (3): Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Alexis Jennings, A ja Wilson. Centers (1): Alaina Coates. Pronunciations Araion Bradshaw R-ee-on Doniyah Cliney dawn-yay CLEYE-nee Alaina Coates uh-lay-nuh COATS Bianca Cuevas-Moore kway-vaas Allisha Gray uh-lee-shuh Mikiah Herbert Harrigan muh-kee-uh Tyasha Harris ty-a-shuh A ja Wilson A-zhuh Fred Chmiel shuh-meal

4 Schedule Mon., Nov. 7 Benedict (Exh.) (SECN+) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Mon., Nov. 14 at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 6 p.m. Basketball Hall of Fame Women s Challenge Sun., Nov. 20 Hampton (SECN+) Columbia, S.C. 3 p.m. Maine vs. Saint Peter s 5 p.m. Mon., Nov. 21 Maine (SECN+) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Hampton vs. Saint Peter s 5 p.m. Tue., Nov. 22 Saint Peter s (SECN+) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Hampton vs. Maine 5 p.m. Sun., Nov. 27 vs. Louisville (ESPN2) Springfield, Mass. 1 p.m. SEC/Big 12 Challenge Thu., Dec. 1 at Texas (ESPN2) Austin, Texas 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 4 at Duke Durham, N.C. 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 11 Minnesota (SECN) Columbia, S.C. 3 p.m. Thu., Dec. 15 Clemson (SECN) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 18 UCLA (ESPN2) Columbia, S.C. 2 p.m. Wed., Dec. 21 at Savannah State Savannah, Ga. 6 p.m. Sun., Jan. 1 Alabama* (ESPN2) Columbia, S.C. 2 p.m. Thu., Jan. 5 at Auburn* (SECN+) Auburn, Ala. 7 p.m. Sun., Jan. 8 at Florida* (ESPNU) Gainesville, Fla. Noon Thu., Jan. 12 Georgia* (SECN) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Sun., Jan. 15 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 3 p.m. Thu., Jan. 19 Ole Miss* (SECN) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Mon., Jan. 23 Mississippi State* (ESPN2) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Thu., Jan. 26 at Georgia* (SECN) Athens, Ga. 7 p.m. Mon., Jan. 30 Tennessee* (ESPN2) Columbia, S.C. 6 p.m. Thu., Feb. 2 at Kentucky* (SECN) Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 5 at Arkansas* (ESPN2) Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Thu., Feb. 9 Auburn* (SECN+) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Mon., Feb. 13 at UConn (ESPN2) Storrs, Conn. 9 p.m. Thu., Feb. 16 Vanderbilt* (SECN) Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 19 at Missouri* (ESPN2) Columbia, Mo. 3 p.m. Thu., Feb. 23 at Texas A&M* (SECN) College Station, Texas 9 p.m. Sun., Feb. 26 Kentucky* (ESPNU/2) Columbia, S.C. 2/5 p.m. SEC Tournament Wed. Mar. 1 First Round (SECN) Greenville, S.C. TBA Thu., Mar. 2 Second Round (SECN) Greenville, S.C. TBA Fri., Mar. 3 Quarterfinals (SECN) Greenville, S.C. TBA Sat., Mar. 4 Semifinals (ESPNU) Greenville, S.C. TBA Sun., Mar. 5 Final (ESPN2) Greenville, S.C. TBA * indicates SEC game All Times Listed as Eastern and are subject to change Television outlet listed in parentheses SECN is SEC Network; SECN+ is SEC Network online via WatchESPN;

5 This Season s Notables Fourth Follow-Up? The Gamecocks enter the season as the three-time reigning SEC regular-season champions, becoming just the third program to win three straight titles, joining Tennessee ( and ) and Auburn ( ). The league has had the same champion four straight seasons just once before when Tennessee claimed its fourth straight in 2003 en route to the league-record five consecutive titles ( ). Staying Power South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is in her ninth season at the helm after guiding the Gamecocks into the postseason six times in her first eight seasons in Columbia. That string includes five straight NCAA Tournament berths, which is the longest consecutive streak in program history. Those five appearances include three Sweet 16s and a Final Four berth. All-Americans Abound South Carolina is one of three teams to return multiple Associated Press All-Americans in Senior center Alaina Coates was an honorable mention selections by the organization, the first All-America nod of her career. Junior forward A ja Wilson brought home First-Team All-America honors from the AP after the organization put her on its third team in Back in (Garnet and) Black The Gamecocks return five letterwinners from last season with a sixth, Tiffany Davis, returning after missing due to injury. Five of those six letterwinners are junior and seniors. Transfer Tickets South Carolina welcomes the on-court addition of a pair of junior transfers who sat out last season per NCAA rules. Guard Kaela Davis is a two-time All-ACC First-Team selection as the fastest player in Georgia Tech history to record 1,000 career points (52 games). Guard Allisha Gray was also a 1,000-point scorer in just two seasons at North Carolina, earning First-Team All-ACC status as a sophomore after leading the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game to rank eighth in the ACC. New Faces Five new Gamecocks join the fold this season with the four freshman ready to take the court right away. Junior forward Alexis Jennings will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. Guard Tyasha Harris (Noblesville, Ind.) headlines the freshman class, coming off a summer spent helping the U.S. to its seventh-straight gold medal in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Araion Bradshaw (Hyde Park, Mass.) and Victoria Patrick (Orlando, Fla.) join her in the guard spot. Bradshaw is point guard with good court vision, and Patrick comes in as a scorer to help stretch the floor. Forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan rounds out the class, bringing athleticism, speed and perimeter shooting to the team. Alai-ja Awaits Over the past two seasons, opponents may be inclined to think of the paint as the Gamecock-owned continent of Alaija as senior center Alaina Coates and junior forward A ja Wilson have firmly planted the flag in the lane on both ends of the court. Earning All-America and First-Team All-SEC status last season, the duo averaged a combined 27.3 points, 18.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. In the Gamecocks 15 games against ranked opponents, the pair were even more dominant with 29.7 points per game, 20.3 rebounds per contest and 4.9 blocks per outing. The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coates Senior Alaina Coates has played a pivotal role in all of South Carolina s accomplishments over the last three seasons by being a steady offensive producer and a dominant rebounder. She averaged a double-double both overall and in SEC play last season, becoming the first Gamecock to average double-figure rebounds overall since and in SEC play since Her sustained success made her just the fifth Gamecock to amass at least 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds. Already the program s career record-holder in defensive rebounds (642), she is fourth on the career rebounds list (930) with eyes on becoming just the third player in program history to join the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. Defensively, Coates is arguably unmanageable inside, ranking second in program history in career blocked shots (171) and altering countless others with her athleticism and timing. AW = All-World Entering her third season at South Carolina, junior forward A ja Wilson is already one of the most decorated Gamecocks in program history. She joined the 1,000-point club in her 71st career game and set the program s single-season record for blocked shots with 103 last season. Those efforts helped her become the first player in league history to earn both SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season. Wilson was a consensus First-Team All-American and a finalist for all three national player of the year awards. Following her MVP performance in the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships, she was also named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year for USA Basketball At least one Gamecocks has donned the red, white and blue for USA Basketball in each of the last three summers, and the group has helped six U.S. teams to gold medals in that time. Former Gamecock Tiffany Mitchell got the streak started with her FIBA 3x3 World Championship gold in 2014, which A ja Wilson and Dawn Staley matched with a gold in the 2014 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Staley went on to assist on USA Basketball s FIBA World Championship gold-medal team that same year. The next summer, Wilson and Staley claimed the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship gold. This summer, incoming freshman Tyasha Harris steered Staley s U.S. U18 team to a gold in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship.

6 Stats All Games OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL ALL GAMES CONFERENCE NON-CONFERENCE TOTAL 3-PTS REBOUNDS ## Player GP GS Min Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG FGA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg 22 WILSON, A ja MITCHELL, Tiffany COATES, Alaina CUEVAS, Bianca SESSIONS, Khadijah ROY, Tina IMOVBIOH, Sarah CLINEY, Doniyah DOZIER, Asia WHITE, Jatarie COLLEY, Shay DUCKETT, Kaydra FARMER, India TEAM Total Opponents Italics indicates not on roster OVERALL HOME AWAY CONFERENCE Stats SEC Games Only TOTAL 3-PTS REBOUNDS ## Player GP GS Min Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG FGA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg 22 WILSON, A ja MITCHELL, Tiffany COATES, Alaina SESSIONS, Khadijah ROY, Tina CUEVAS, Bianca CLINEY, Doniyah WHITE, Jatarie IMOVBIOH, Sarah DOZIER, Asia DUCKETT, Kaydra FARMER, India TEAM Total Opponents Italics indicates not on roster

7 Results OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL ALL GAMES CONFERENCE NON-CONFERENCE DATE TIME OPPONENT SCORE ATTEND HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS 11/13/15 7 p.m. #6/10 OHIO STATE W (20)WILSON, A ja (14)WILSON, A ja 11/15/15 3 p.m. UNCG W (19)WILSON, A ja (11)IMOVBIOH, Sarah 11/18/15 7 p.m. at Clemson W (18)MITCHELL, Tiffany (6)COATES, Alaina (6)IMOVBIOH, Sarah (6)WHITE, Jatarie 11/22/15 1:02 p.m. at UCLA W (17)ROY, Tina (12)COATES, Alaina (17)MITCHELL, Tiffany 11/27/15 2:30 vs #16/18 Arizona State W (18)CUEVAS, Bianca (11)WILSON, A ja (18)WILSON, A ja 11/28/15 1:30 vs CSU Bakersfield W (26)WILSON, A ja (8)WILSON, A ja 11/29/15 5 at Hawaii W (18)WILSON, A ja (5)WILSON, A ja 12/06/15 2 p.m. #14/13 DUKE W (28)WILSON, A ja (11)WILSON, A ja 12/13/15 2 p.m. WINTHROP W (29)COATES, Alaina (16)COATES, Alaina 12/16/15 7 p.m. HAMPTON W (22)COATES, Alaina (12)COATES, Alaina 12/20/15 1 p.m. < vs East Carolina W (18)MITCHELL, Tiffany (15)COATES, Alaina 12/22/15 7 p.m. ELON W (18)MITCHELL, Tiffany (8)WILSON, A ja (8)COATES, Alaina 01/03/16 3 p.m. * ARKANSAS W (21)ROY, Tina (10)WILSON, A ja (10)COATES, Alaina 01/07/16 8 p.m. * at Vanderbilt W (22)MITCHELL, Tiffany (10)COATES, Alaina 01/10/16 12 p.m. * #20/- MISSOURI W (19)MITCHELL, Tiffany (12)COATES, Alaina 01/14/16 7 p.m. * at #9/9 Kentucky W (26)WILSON, A ja (13)WILSON, A ja 01/17/16 1:30 p.m. * #15/11 TEXAS A&M W (26)WILSON, A ja (11)COATES, Alaina 01/21/16 6 p.m. * at Auburn W (17)COATES, Alaina (10)COATES, Alaina 01/24/16 4:01 p.m. * at #10/10 Mississippi State W (21)MITCHELL, Tiffany (11)WILSON, A ja (11)COATES, Alaina 01/28/16 7 p.m. * OLE MISS W (17)WILSON, A ja (14)COATES, Alaina 01/31/16 5 p.m. * at #10/10 Texas A&M W (27)WILSON, A ja (10)WILSON, A ja (10)COATES, Alaina 02/04/16 7 p.m. * #18/18 KENTUCKY W (27)COATES, Alaina (13)COATES, Alaina 02/08/16 7 p.m. #1/1 UCONN L (13)WILSON, A ja (9)COATES, Alaina (13)IMOVBIOH, Sarah 02/11/16 7 p.m. * #16/19 FLORIDA W (22)MITCHELL, Tiffany (11)COATES, Alaina 02/15/16 7:01 p.m. * at #24/- Tennessee W (25)WILSON, A ja (10)COATES, Alaina 02/18/16 7 p.m. * GEORGIA W (19)MITCHELL, Tiffany (9)WILSON, A ja 02/22/16 6 p.m. * at Alabama W (16)WILSON, A ja (18)COATES, Alaina 02/25/16 8 p.m. * at Ole Miss W (16)WILSON, A ja (14)COATES, Alaina 02/28/16 2 p.m. * LSU W (24)MITCHELL, Tiffany (7)WILSON, A ja 03/04/16 12:03 p.m. ^ vs Auburn W (14)COATES, Alaina (12)COATES, Alaina 03/05/16 5 p.m. ^ vs #13/13 Kentucky W (20)MITCHELL, Tiffany (10)COATES, Alaina 03/06/16 2:35 p.m. ^ vs #16/16 Mississippi State W (19)MITCHELL, Tiffany (13)WILSON, A ja (19)WILSON, A ja 03/18/16 7:45 p.m. $ JACKSONVILLE W (22)COATES, Alaina (11)WILSON, A ja 03/20/16 7:05 p.m. $ KANSAS STATE W (20)MITCHELL, Tiffany (10)COATES, Alaina 03/25/16 6 p.m. $ vs #14/15 Syracuse L 4610 (18)COATES, Alaina (16)COATES, Alaina * = SEC = Rainbow Wahine Showdown (Honolulu, Hawaii) < = Carolinas Challenge (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) ^ = SEC Tournament (Jacksonville, Fla.) $ = NCAA Tournament (Columbia, S.C.; Sioux Falls, S.D.) ATTENDANCE SUMMARY GAMES TOTALS AVG/GAME HOME AWAY NEUTRAL TOTAL

SOUTH CAROLINA Women s Basketball

SOUTH CAROLINA Women s Basketball SOUTH CAROLINA 2015-16 Women s Basketball The University Location... Columbia, S.C. Founded...1801 Enrollment...32,972 Nickname... Gamecocks Colors...Garnet (PMS 202C) and Black Home Court (Capacity)...Colonial