by UofSC Athletic Communications
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Southeastern Conference women's basketball head coaches recognized five Gamecocks, including Te'a Cooper, Tyasha Harris and Alexis Jennings on the All-SEC Second Team, the league office announced today. South Carolina freshmen Destanni Henderson and Victaria Saxtonearned SEC All-Freshman Team honors as well. The Associated Press also released its All-SEC awards today, which included Harris as a second-team choice.
Cooper is the Gamecocks' leading scorer on the season, ranking 27th in the SEC with 11.8 points per game. Her 10 games as the team's top scorer are double the next Gamecocks in line, and she has accounted for five of the team's 10 20-point games this season, including the lone 30-point outing. Her scoring average jumps to 15.1 points in the Gamecocks' 10 games against ranked opponents. Cooper is on the Dawn Staley Award Midseason Watch List and is picking up the second SEC honor of her career after making the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2015-16 while at Tennessee.
Harris is on both the All-SEC Second Team of both organizations for the second time in as many seasons and has been recognized by the league's coaches every year of her career, as she picked up All-Freshman Team honors in 2016-17. This season, Harris averages 5.3 assists to rank 28th in the nation and scores 10.7 points per game. Her 2.91 assist-to-turnover ratio is 14th in the nation. She is among the SEC's top 10 with 1.7 steals per game. In SEC action, her assists rise to 6.2 per game thanks to three double-digit assist games in the last five league games. Her three points-assists double-doubles this season give her nine for her career, which matches the program record for such double-doubles. In SEC games, between her points and assists, Harris has her hands on 25.3 points per game - 34.4 percent of the Gamecocks' offense.
Jennings has been the most consistent Gamecock this season with a team-high 18 games in double-figures and four double-doubles. She is second on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg) and is 19th in the league in rebounding with 6.2 per game. In SEC action, her 6.9 rebounds per game ranks 13th in the conference and go with a team-high 11.8 points per game. She has scored in double figures in 12 of South Carolina's 16 SEC games, including three double-doubles. She has been on a tear recently in blocked shots, picking up 15 of her 30 this season in the last six games. This season's selection is Jennings' first postseason recognition from the conference since she was on the 2014-15 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Henderson and Saxton were dominant during the middle of the SEC schedule, beginning with breakout games at Arkansas. Henderson went on to score in double figures five times in a six-game stretch to help keep the Gamecocks in the running for the regular-season title. On the season, she added 5.8 points and 1.3 assists per game while shooting a team-best 41.8 percent from 3-point range. Saxton showed that she will be the Gamecocks' next shot-blocking force with 1.3 per game to rank eighth in the SEC. Her 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 points per game have come playing just 10.7 minutes per game. She turned in four games of six or more rebounds during SEC play.
The No. 12 Gamecocks (21-8 13-3 SEC) earned the second seed in this week's SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C. South Carolina will take on the winner of the game between No. 10-seed Arkansas and seventh-seeded Georgia on Fri., March 8, at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
2019 SEC Awards (Coaches) Co-Coaches of the Year: Matthew Mitchell, Kentucky; Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State Player of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State Freshman of the Year: Rhyne Howard, Kentucky Defensive Player of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Miss. State 6th Woman of the Year: Cierra Porter, Missouri Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Maci Morris, Kentucky
All-SEC First Team (Coaches)
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Teaira McCowan, Miss. State
Ayana Mitchell, LSU
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
All-SEC Second Team (Coaches)
Crystal Allen, Ole Miss
Te'a Cooper, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas
Mariella Fasoula, Vanderbilt
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Alexis Jennings, S. Carolina
Janiah McKay, Auburn
All-Defensive Team
Jazzmun Holmes, Miss. State
Teaira McCowan, Miss. State
Janiah McKay, Auburn
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
SEC All-Freshman Team Brinae Alexander, Vanderbilt Robyn Benton, Auburn Blair Green, Kentucky Zaay Green, Tennessee Destanni Henderson, S. Carolina Rhyne Howard, Kentucky Akira Levy, Missouri Victaria Saxton, South Carolina
2019 SEC Awards (AP) Coach of the Year: Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State Player of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State Newcomer of the Year: Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
2019 All-SEC First Team (AP)
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
2019 All-SEC Second Team (AP) Rennia Davis, Tennessee Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas Tyasha Harris, South Carolina Rhyne Howard, Kentucky Maci Morris, Kentucky
Comentários