Women's Fastbreak On SI

MiLaysia Fulwiley Receives SEC Recognition for Standout South Carolina Role

South Carolina Gamecocks star MiLaysia Fulwiley received a prestigious SEC award on Tuesday.
Grant Young|
Feb 20, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (12) makes a no-look pass past Arkansas Razorbacks guard Carly Keats (23) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Feb 20, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (12) makes a no-look pass past Arkansas Razorbacks guard Carly Keats (23) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

After an impressive freshman season for the 2024 NCAA National Champion South Carolina Gamecocks, MiLaysia Fulwiley has improved leaps and bounds during her second year in the program during their 2024-25 campaign.

While her stats are essentially the same between her two seasons (11.9 points per game as a sophomore compared to 11.7 per game as a freshman, along with averaging either exactly or nearly exactly the same rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers), anybody who has watched the sophomore play can see the growth she has made in her decision-making and defensive ability.

Despite her success, Fulwiley has been coming off the bench for Dawn Staley's squad all season long — which has upset some fans at various points. However, Fulwiley's bench role resulted in some hardware, which was revealed on March 4.

The SEC Conference released its annual awards on Tuesday, and five Gamecocks players received honors. One of these was Fulwiley, who was awarded SEC Sixth Woman of the Year.

Per a February 4 press release from the Gamecocks, "Fulwiley is the third Gamecock to be named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, joining former All-Americans Alaina Coates (2014) and Kamilla Cardoso (2023)".

Both Fulwiley and her teammate Te-Hina Paopao were also All-SEC Second Team honorees, while freshman Joyce Edwards made both the All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Freshman team.

Gamecocks veterans Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin rounded out the team's 2024-25 season awards by being included on the SEC All-Defensive Team.

While these individual honors are great, the Gamecocks' real goal is repeating for the 2025 NCAA National Championship.

Recommended Reading:

Published | Modified
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

Share on XFollow GrvntYoung
Home/News