Jatarie White decides to leave USC women’s team

South Carolina has lost a second player in as many days.

Rising junior forward Jatarie White has decided to transfer, coach Dawn Staley announced on Thursday. The former No. 7 prospect in the country never got over the hump with the Gamecocks, injuries and illnesses limiting her to 51 games over two seasons.

White is the third player to transfer from USC this season, following freshman guard Shay Colley to Pitt and sophomore guard Kaydra Duckett on Wednesday. Colley cited homesickness as her reason to leave (she is from Canada) and Duckett took the spring semester off to concentrate on academics, before deciding to transfer for the final two seasons of her basketball career.

White was one of the first signees in USC’s second-ranked recruiting class two years ago, coming in as the top-rated post player in the country and a McDonald’s All-American. A foot injury and an illness caused her to miss 12 games in 2014-15 and the same foot injury limited her to a slow start this year.

White averaged three points and three rebounds over 31 games.

White’s future minutes were going to be limited with the Gamecocks returning SEC Player of the Year A’ja Wilson (a rising junior) and rising senior Alaina Coates, also a first-team All-SEC center. Her departure leaves Staley with five open scholarships for next season.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 6:37 PM.