Ieasia Walker Makes AP All-SEC 2nd Team

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — South Carolina senior guard Ieasia Walker earned a spot on the Associated Press‘ All-SEC Second Team, the organization announced today. Sophomore forward Aleighsa Welch was tabbed a league honorable mention. The pair will lead the Gamecocks (24-7) into the program‘s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend, taking on South Dakota State on Sat., March 23, at 4:10 p.m. (ET) in Boulder, Colo. Walker was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-SEC First Team by the league‘s coaches just before the SEC Tournament began. She is the team‘s third-leading scorer at 9.5 points per game, although that number jumped up to 10.2 points per SEC contest. That production comes with 3.2 assists per game and 2.7 steals per contest as she defends the opponents‘ point guard. Walker is ranked 45th in the nation in steals per game. She will complete her career as one of just three players in program history to accumulate 1,000 career points while also amassing 250 assists and 250 steals. Welch is the Gamecocks‘ top scorer at 12.0 points per game and has nine double-doubles on the season. Among the SEC‘s top 10 rebounders overall, she leads the league in offensive boards with 3.9 per game. Welch has scored in double figures 20 times this season and pulled down 10 or more rebounds 11 times. Ranked No. 17/14 this week, the Gamecocks earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament‘s Norfolk Region. It is the program‘s highest seed since the 2001-02 team played as the No. 3 seed in the East Region. 2013 AP All-SEC First Team A‘dia Matheis, Kentucky Theresa Plaisance, LSU Meighan Simmons, Tennessee Kelsey Bone, Texas A&M Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt 2013 AP All-SEC Second Team Hasina Muhammad, Auburn Jasmine Hassell, Georgia DaNesha Stallworth, Kentucky Ieasia Walker, South Carolina Bashaara Graves, Tennessee 2013 AP All-SEC Honorable Mention Jaterra Bonds, Florida Jennifer George, Florida Jasmine James, Georgia Adrienne Webb, LSU Martha Alwal, Mississippi State Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina Kristi Bellock, Texas A&M Adrienne Pratcher, Texas A&M Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt Coach of the Year: Holly Warlick, Tennessee Player of the Year: A‘dia Mathis, Kentucky Newcomer of the Year: Bashaara Graves, Tennessee