LeLe Grissett returning for one more season with Dawn Staley, Gamecocks

The gang’s all back.

South Carolina women’s basketball will return every player from its Final Four run for the 2021-22 season, as senior LeLe Grissett announced Friday that she will be coming back to the Gamecocks for another year, taking advantage of the additional eligibility offered by the NCAA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grissett, a 6-foot-2 guard, was the only senior on this last year’s roster and did not declare for the WNBA Draft, which was held Thursday. There was still the possibility that she could have gone pro overseas or started the next phase of her life altogether, but in her announcement Friday, Grissett

As a senior, Grissett started just one game for USC but positioned herself as the team’s top option off the bench. With her blend of length and speed, she was capable of playing and guarding multiple positions. Averaging 7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1 assist per game, she also ranked second on the team in field goal percentage at 50%. Dawn Staley praised her for her leadership and said she set a “tremendous example” for the rest of the Gamecock bench players.

In the championship game of the SEC tournament, however, Grissett went down with a lower leg injury. She immediately exited the game and retreated to the locker room, and when she returned, she was wearing a walking boot and crutches. Soon after, Staley ruled her out for the entire NCAA tournament.

Since the Gamecocks lost in heartbreaking fashion to Stanford in the Final Four in San Antonio, Staley’s squad has managed to avoid the rush of transfers and departures that has hit seemingly every other team in the country.