South Carolina’s Harris wins award named for her coach

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina point guard Tyasha Harris is this year’s recipient of the Dawn Staley award.

The Phoenix Club of Philadelphia made the announcement Friday. Harris became the second Gamecock, joining Tiffany Mitchell in 2013, to win in the eight seasons of the award. The award, named after the South Carolina coach and Philadelphia native, goes to the player in women’s basketball who best displays the qualities Staley demonstrated during her playing career.

Harris, a 5-foot-10 senior from Noblesville, Indiana, had her career-best scoring average at 12 points a game in leading South Carolina to a 32-1 record and a No. 1 finish in The Associated Press rankings.

Harris also became the first in South Carolina women’s basketball program history to finish with 700 or more assists in her career. She helped the Gamecocks to two Southeastern Conference regular-season titles, three tournament titles and the 2017 national championship in her four seasons.