Ieasia Walker named SEC Defensive Player of the Year
South Carolina senior guard Ieasia Walker was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday.
Four Gamecocks were honored by the league's coaches.
The first winner of the award in program history, Walker earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team and All-Defensive Team as well. Senior Ashley Bruner and sophomore Aleighsa Welch were tabbed with second-team honors, and Tiffany Mitchell was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Walker's selection marks the first time since joining the SEC that the league's coaches have selected a Gamecock for one of the player of the year awards. Walker leads the SEC in steals per conference game at 3.1 and ranks 35th in the nation in steals overall (2.8 per game). In addition, she ranks among the SEC's top 15 in assists (3.2 per game) and is 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Walker's 9.4 points per game are third on the team and include eight double-figure scoring games in SEC play.
"It's a great day to be a Gamecock," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. "I'm so happy for Ieasia. Her hard work and commitment sets the tone and standard for our defensive expectations. What an honor to be recognized by a conference that has so many great athletes."
Welch is the team's top scorer at 12.2 points per game to rank 22nd in the SEC. She is the conference's top offensive rebounder, pulling down 4.1 per game as part of her 7.9 rebounds per outing this season, which ranks eighth in the league.
Bruner makes her debut on an All-SEC team after averaging 9.7 points and 7.6 rebounds this season. She is among the league's top-10 rebounders and is fifth on the offensive glass. She is one of 8 Gamecocks all-time to pull down 600 career rebounds and ranks 15th in the record books in the category.
Mitchell has enjoyed a solid freshman campaign, averaging 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Starting 24 games this season, she has been the team's top scorer seven times and top rebounder six. She has two double-doubles to her credit and one 20-point outing. Mitchell scored in double figures in 12 of the 29 games this season.
South Carolina plays at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the SEC Tournament against the winner of Wednesday's game between Mississippi State and Alabama.
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... Coach of the Year: Holly Warlick, Tennessee
... Co-Players of the Year: A’dia Mathies, Kentucky/Meighan Simmons, Tennessee
... Freshman of the Year: Bashaara Graves, Tennessee
... Defensive Player of the Year: Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
... Co-6th Woman of the Year: Sarah Watkins, Arkansas/Morgan Eye, Missouri
... Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Blanche Alverson, Auburn
All-SEC First Team
... Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
... A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
... DeNesha Stallworth, Kentucky
... Theresa Plaisance, LSU
... Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
... Bashaara Graves, Tennessee
... Meighan Simmons, Tennessee
... Kelsey Bone, Texas A&M
... Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
All-SEC Second Team
... Hasina Muhammad, Auburn
... Jennifer George, Florida
... Jasmine James, Georgia
... Samarie Walker, Kentucky
... Adrienne Webb, LSU
... Martha Alwal, Mississippi State
... Bri Kulas, Missouri
... Ashley Bruner, South Carolina
... Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina
... Adrienne Pratcher, Texas A&M
... Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt
All-Defensive Team
... Jennifer George, Florida
... Shacobia Barbee, Georgia
... Samarie Walker, Kentucky
... Danielle Ballard, LSU
... Theresa Plaisance, LSU
... Martha Alwal, Mississippi State
... Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
All-Freshman Team
... Sydney Moss, Florida
... Shacobia Barbee, Georgia
... Danielle Ballard, LSU
... Lianna Doty, Missouri
... Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
... Bashaara Graves, Tennessee
... Courtney Walker, Texas A&M
... Heather Bowe, Vanderbilt
This story was originally published March 5, 2013 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Ieasia Walker named SEC Defensive Player of the Year."