South Carolina Women’s Basketball: Tiffany Mitchell named third-team All American

Mar 30, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Tiffany Mitchell (25) drives in against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Diamond DeShields (23) during the second half in the semifinals of a women’s college basketball game in the Stanford regional of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion. The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 65-58. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The honors keep coming in for South Carolina guard Tiffany Mitchell.

After the Gamecocks’ run to the Sweet 16, Mitchell picked up All-American Third-Team honors from the Associated Press.

The second-year player from Charlotte, NC put together quite the performance this season as she skirted the sophomore curse in a big way. Mitchell lead the team with 15.5 points a game, was 54.1% from beyond the arc and recorded 62 steals. In fact, she was the ACC player of the year and was the only player from the league to make the All-American list.

Mitchell wasn’t the only Gamecock to make the list, though. Aleighsa Welch was an honorable mention after her 13.7 points a game and her 7.6 rebounds an outing.

Head coach Dawn Staley has to be excited about the future of her team as her entire starting lineup returns for 2014-15, while a top-5 recruiting class (led by the top center in the country in Jataire White, top 30 shooting guard Kaydra Duckett and top-50 point guard Bianca Cuevas) is set to enter the fray in Columbia. Mitchell returns as a junior next year and Welch will provide a solid base of senior leadership. Freshman Alaina Coates (12.3 ppg off the bench), the reigning ACC freshman of the year, figures to be in the mix to start next season. And, it bears mentioning as well, this group now has a Sweet 16 run on their resume.