The class of 2020 has seen its women's basketball team make three NCAA tournament appearances, win three SEC Tournament titles and win the NCAA women's basketball title for the first time in school history, all under the guidance of head coach Dawn Staley.
These achievements did not come without some of South Carolina’s most memorable players of the last four years, including now-Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray and Atlanta Dream center Alaina Coates.
However, this year’s graduating class has been able to watch two recent WNBA draftees since their freshman year with forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and guard Tyasha Harris.
Herbert Harrigan and Harris made an immediate impact on the court in their freshman year, as they played in all 37 games, with Harris starting in 27 of those games, including the NCAA Championship game against Mississippi State.
Harris became a regular in Staley’s starting lineup in her sophomore season and started in all but one game, averaging 10.3 points per game. She also led the SEC in assists per game with 6.1 and achieved All-SEC second-team honors.
Herbert Harrigan also cracked the starting lineup five times as a sophomore and played alongside Harris in the 2018 SEC Tournament championship game against Mississippi State, where they both scored in the double digits.
Herbert Harrigan became a mainstay in the South Carolina starting lineup, and she started in 21 games and led the team in blocks with 71 in the 2018-2019 season.
Harris also became a vital part of the 2018-19 women’s basketball team, and she retained her starting role as she led the team in 3-pointers with 39.
Herbert Harrigan and Harris arguably blossomed in their senior seasons, as they both started in all 32 games for the Gamecocks. Herbert Harrigan averaged a team-leading 13.1 points per game, and Harris averaged 12.1 points per game, this past season.
The two seniors proved to be leaders on the No. 1-ranked squad, and they performed well in big games such as this past year’s highly-anticipated UConn game and the SEC Championship game against Mississippi State.
Against UConn, Harris had a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists and played all 40 minutes in the 70-52 win over the Huskies.
Meanwhile, Herbert Harrigan emerged as a leader in the SEC title game with a team-leading 15 points. She shot 46.2% from the field on the way to a 76-62 win over the Bulldogs.
With their college careers over, the now-former Gamecocks are about to embark on the next chapter of their careers in the WNBA.
Herbert Harrigan was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx in this year’s WNBA draft.
“I really look forward to it, you know, getting up there and getting to work,” Herbert Harrigan told the Minnesota Lynx. “I’m open to challenges, so like she said, I have to work on my rebounding and that’s something I’ll lock in and try to do.”
Harris didn’t wait much longer after her former teammate, as she was selected with the seventh overall pick to the Dallas Wings.
“I was super happy, super ecstatic about it all,” Harris told The Dallas Morning News. “My dream is finally coming true, a dream I’ve had since I was four years old. It’s just an amazing feeling that all my hard work has paid off, and I got to celebrate with some of my family back home in Indiana.”