Check In Fans:South Carolina women’s basketball star named finalist for Dawn Staley Award

MiLaysia Fulwiley, a standout player for the South Carolina women’s basketball team, was named a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award on Friday. She joins UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Southern Cal’s Juju Watkins, and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo as one of four finalists.

The Dawn Staley Award, named for the head coach of the Gamecocks, is given out each year to the greatest college basketball player who most closely reflects Staley’s style of play, which includes ball handling, scoring, passing, and competition.The award was previously given to Gamecocks Tiffany Mitchell and Ty Harris.

Fulwiley has averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks throughout the course of this season. She is

The Phoenix Club of Philadelphia announced today that MiLaysia Fulwiley, a sophomore in women’s basketball for South Carolina, is one of four finalists for the Dawn Staley Award. The NCAA Division I women’s basketball player who best demonstrates the abilities Staley displayed throughout her career—ball handling, scoring, basketball distribution, and a strong will to win—is honored with the award.

After the Gamecocks won the tournament for the third consecutive year, Fulwiley’s impressive performance earned her a spot on the SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team. Earlier this month, league coaches awarded her the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year and on the All-SEC Second Team. With a scoring average of 12.0 points per game, including a 13.4 average in SEC regular-season games, the Columbia, South Carolina native ranks second on the team in scoring. Eleven of her last thirteen games have seen her score in double figures, inc

Fulwiley’s contribution to the Gamecocks’ success increased during SEC play as she adopted a defensive strategy that placed her ninth in steals per SEC game and 10th in the league in blocks per conference game, making her the league’s best shot-blocking guard. She has at least three thefts in eight games, five of which have been against opponents ranked in the top 15.