Both Roth (starting pitcher) and Price (relief pitcher) were on back-to-back national championship teams with the Gamecocks in 2010 and 2011 as well as the national runner-up squad in 2012. They also helped Carolina set a national record with 22 consecutive wins in NCAA Tournament play from 2010-12.
Junior LeLe Grissett scored a season-best 17 points off the bench to help No. 5/6 South Carolina hold off No. 25/21 South Dakota, 73-60 on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.
Six Gamecocks cracked double figures in a game that was dominated by a smothering defensive effort and powerful rebounding.
Seniors Javon Kinlaw, Joseph Charlton, Bryan Edwards, and Tavien Feaster were among those selected. PFF’s lists take into account every player’s actions on the field on Saturdays while also utilizing their wealth of signature statistics to determine the list.
The Gamecocks defense was well represented on the team, with Javon Kinlaw, D.J. Wonnum, and Israel Mukuamu earning the honors.
Maik Kotsar had 12 points and AJ Lawson had 10 for South Carolina, which has lost three of its past five games.
The program broke its 16-year postseason drought last season with a bid and made it to the second round before losing to regional host Minnesota. The Gamecocks are 5-8 all-time in the national tournament, advancing to the second round in five of eight trips.
The Gamecocks’ power forward, a four-year starter, has been the only constant through a stretch of three losses in four games, and with leading scorer AJ Lawson turnover-prone on Sunday, South Carolina needed him to be as productive.
The Gamecock victory was built on defense, though, as South Carolina returned to its lock-down effort on that end of the court. Washington State scored just nine points each in the first and third quarters on combined 25.0 percent shooting.
It’s the third time in four seasons the Gamecocks have finished in at least the NCAA quarterfinals. South Carolina will graduate five seniors in Grace Fisk, Mikayla Krzeczowski, Elexa Bahr, Tatumn Milazzo and Rebecca Koch.
