South Carolina celebrates senior day Sunday while trying to close out an undefeated SEC season against Texas A&M.

1. Senior Day Part 1: Tyasha Harris

Senior stats: 12.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 43.7 percent shooting, 40.5 percent from three, 85.5 percent free throws

Career stats: 1,295 points, 674 assists, 411 rebounds, 216 steals

Career records: One of two Gamecocks with over 1,000 career points and 600 assists; South Carolina’s all-time leader in assists, SEC assists, points-assists double-doubles (10); South Carolina record for assists in an SEC game (14 against Tennessee in 2019); South Carolina single-season record for assists, minutes played, and assist average in the SEC; sixth in games played (needs five more games to set the record) and second in starts; top ten in career steals

Career highlights: Appeared in all 37 games as a freshman and took over as the starting point guard midway through her freshman season, starting 27 games; has never missed a game, and missed just one start as a sophomore and junior; starter on the 2017 national championship team; two-time SEC champion; two-time SEC tournament champion, will go down as one of the best point guards in program history

Awards: two-time All-SEC Second Team (2018, 2019); two-time WBCA All-America Honorable Mention (2018, 2019); 2018 SEC All-Tournament Team; 2017 SEC All-Freshman Team

Dawn Staley has signed a lot of elite point guards at South Carolina. Ty Harris wasn’t one. In the 2016 class that included Sabrina Ionescu and Crystal Dangerfield, Harris was the 28th-ranked player and 9th-ranked point guard. That’s why you take recruiting rankings with a grain of salt. By the time South Carolina began SEC play, Harris was the starting point guard, and it’s been that way since. She wasn’t just a placeholder on the national championship team either. Harris had 16 points, then her career-high, in the Elite Eight against Florida State and grabbed a key rebound late, followed by a steal and free throws to seal the win. She had five points in the final 64 seconds to hold off Stanford in the Final Four, making 3-4 free throws.

“Ty asked really good questions that made me aware of her intellect and ability to think the game because of the type of questions she asked as a freshman,” Staley said. “As she’s grown into a leader and captain, those questions have never stopped.”

“Honestly, everything I wanted to accomplish I checked off my freshman year,” Harris said. “Winning a national championship. Everybody wants to do that and I did it my freshman year. Hopefully I can get it back my senior year and leave with a bang. All that other stuff that comes in between I didn’t really expect.”

For three years, Staley begged Harris to look for her own shot more often. For the first two seasons, it was easy for Harris to slide into A’ja Wilson’s shadow. Without Wilson last season, Harris struggled at times to accept the increased responsibility and shot a career-low from the floor. As a senior, that hasn’t been an issue. She passed 1,000 career points in November, and after the game Staley, who can always find fault in her points guards, gave her the ultimate compliment.

“I wanted Ty to hit that mark probably two years ago, but she’s so unselfish,” Staley said. “She’s the consummate point guard.”

Harris has embraced her “big sister” role (“Not a mom,” she insisted before the season) this season. She has expertly picked her spots and provided invaluable leadership and a steady hand for the Gamecocks’ talented freshmen.

“I played with Dawn,” Vanderbilt’s Stephanie White said. “Dawn’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around. And Ty Harris is an extension of Dawn. Every year she’s taken more ownership of that leadership role.”

Harris had 20 points and seven assists against Baylor. She had 23 points and seven rebounds against Mississippi State, including the last five points of the game. But the highlight of her season - and maybe career - was a 19 point, 11 assist, zero turnover tour de force against UConn that saw her score ten straight points early to put South Carolina in control, and elevated her to one of the front-runners for SEC Player of the Year.

“Ty is different,” Staley said. “She is smooth, she’s a silent killer. Most of our point guards have been a little more vocal. It takes a lot out of them to be vocal. But Ty has been like EF Hutton, when she talks, people listen. She led from that approach. There’s a lot of ways to skin a cat, and a lot of ways to lead. You have to be organic in how you lead, and she’s been that.”

(I had to look up the EF Hutton reference. EF Hutton was a brokerage firm that had an advertising campaign with the tagline, “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.” EF Hutton ceased to be in 1987, and although the name has been revived, I’m not that old.)

“You dream about this day,” Harris said. “You see all your former teammates go through it. Now it’s here for me and it’s kind of surreal.”

2. Senior Day Part 2: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan

Senior stats: 12.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.4 assists, 50.9 percent shooting, 43.9 percent from three, 81.1 percent free throws

Career stats: 1,127 points, 570 rebounds, 201 blocks, 97 assists

Career records: one of three Gamecocks all-time with 1,000 points and 100 blocks; third all-time leading shot-blocker (nien blocks behind second place)

Career highlights: Appeared in all 37 games as a freshman and has missed just three games in her career; started 58 games, including every game this season; member of the 2017 national championship team; two-time SEC champion; two-time SEC tournament champion

Awards: 2018 SEC All-Tournament Team

Before she was Mad KiKi, she was Postseason KiKi. As a freshman reserve on the national championship, Herbert Harrigan established herself as an inconsistent player who sometimes got inside her head, according to Staley, but also a clutch player in March. She scored a then career-high 17 against Kentucky in the SEC tournament and 14 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As a sophomore, she scored in double figures in all three SEC tournament games and was named to the all-tournament. As a junior she scored a career-high 27 against Arkansas and 20 against Florida State.

“KiKi’s probably had the most growth,” Staley said. “She’s probably one who came to college and thought it was something different than it actually is.”

Herbert Harrigan entered the transfer portal after her junior season, but a meeting with Staley cleared the air and Herbert Harrigan came back. She responded with her most effective and consistent season. She has scored double figures in all but five games (and scored eight, seven, eight, nine, and nine in those games). Herbert Harrigan’s baseline jumper is nearly unstoppable, and she has become a strong three-point shooter.

“I’m very happy that I decided to stay,” she said. “It’s a great program. Personal issues was the reason why I was thinking about leaving. Overall it’s a great program, great coaches and great players, surrounded by great people and I wanted to continue to be a part of that.”

Herbert Harrigan’s “Mad KiKi” persona has become a hit with fans. It started slowly, as fans and media noticed her tendency to wear her disgust on her face when she was unhappy with something that happened on the court. She usually responded with her best basketball after those moments. It really took off when Staley joked, “I might have to yell at her so we get Mad KiKi.”

It marked a 180 for Herbert Harrigan. Her emotions were once her biggest liability, now Staley was gleefully tapping into them. Herbert Harrigan credits Harris and Aliyah Boston for helping her channel those emotions into something productive.

“You know I get a little upset. It’s not coming from a bad place, it’s competitive spirit,” Herbert Harrigan said. “It was a focus for me coming into my senior season, trying to calm down, take a deep breath, relax and try to lead my team so we can win a national championship.”

3. SEC Stuff

Just one (2016) of South Carolina’s four previous titles included a perfect season. That team finished the regular season 28-1, a mark this team could surpass. That team was ranked #3 at the end of the season, won the SEC Tournament, but then lost in the Sweet Sixteen. Tennessee has gone undefeated in the SEC nine times, but 16-0 just once. Mississippi State went 16-0 in 2018, but lost to South Carolina in the SEC tournament final. Among teams that went undefeated prior to the 16 game season were Georgia (9-0 twice), Auburn (9-0 twice), LSU (14-0 twice), and Ole Miss (8-0, 11-0).

South Carolina has clinched the top seed in the SEC tournament. As a result, the Gamecocks know their schedule. South Carolina’s first game will be at noon on Friday, March 4 (Session 4). If they advance, they will play at 5:00 pm on Saturday (Session 6). The final is Sunday at 3:00 pm (Session 7).

Mississippi State has clinched second place. Texas A&M and Kentucky are tied for third, with Kentucky holding the tie-breaker. Arkansas, LSU, and Tennessee are each tied for fifth with 9-6 records. They hold a two-game lead over eighth place, so none are in danger of dropping that far.

And now I make a disclaimer that I might be wrong about these projections: Alabama, fresh off two wins over top-15 teams, will finish either eighth or ninth. Those two seeds play at noon Thursday and the winner will play South Carolina. Georgia and Florida are both 6-9, and the winner will be the other team in the eight/nine game.

Ole Miss has clinched the 14 seed.

4. Extracurriculars

With one game left, South Carolina has to get everything done Sunday, and there is a lot.

The Gamecock and EdVenture are teaming up for a book drive. Fans are asked to bring new or lightly used books to donate outside Colonial Life Arena on Sunday. The books will be distributed to underserved areas throughout the Midlands.

It is the seventh annual Health and Fitness game, with booths and activities on the concourse.

During the first quarter, the Read with the Gamecocks Top Achievers will be announced. In the second quarter, DSS will recognize its Adoptive Family of the Year and the Head Start Father of the Year.

Senior Day festivities begin at 11:35. Along with Harris and Herbert Harrigan, two graduate assistants will be recognized.

“They’ve put you through a lot, you’ve put them through a whole lot, but this is the day in which you leave them alone and allow them to take in the atmosphere,” Staley said.

After the Senior Day ceremony, the entire team will be presented with the 2019-20 SEC regular season championship trophy.

At halftime, Chapin’s Shawn Kizer will walk the court. Kizer’s husband was killed and she lost her leg when their family’s boat was hit by an alleged drunk boater. Kizer is a big Gamecock fan, and in January she got to meet Staley. Staley has encouraged Kizer and offered support throughout her difficult physical therapy, which included learning to walk on a prosthetic leg. In January, Staley set a goal for Kizer that at halftime of the Texas A&M game they would walk the court together.

5. Scouting the Aggies

Texas A&M was the preseason coaches’ pick to win the SEC while South Carolina was the media pick. This game, the only meeting between the two teams, was scheduled in anticipation of a huge game that could decide the SEC championship NCAA seeding, and more. South Carolina has done its part, but Texas A&M has not.

The Aggies lost Chennedy Carter, the preseason player of the year, in January. She missed the next month, seven games, with that ankle injury, and Texas A&M went 4-3 without her. But Texas A&M was starting to play better without carter, learning how to play a different style of basketball. Carter has put up her familiar numbers in the five games since returning, but something is still off. Texas A&M is 4-1 since Carter’s return, but there has been a noticeable adjustment period. The Aggies had to eke out a 73-71 win over Tennessee, and then trailed by double digits for the entire second half in a home loss to Alabama. That loss has put Texas A&M’s top 16 seed in jeopardy.

That’s not to say the Aggies aren’t good, it’s to say they are a mystery.

“Chennedy Carter is a handful,” Staley said. “Not only her, their ability to play without her and to play well, they’ve got a lot of great pieces.”

Staley likes to make scorers work on defense, and that strategy has been very successful against Carter, a player who in the past got used to resting on defense.

The Ws

Who: #1 South Carolina (28-1, 15-0) vs #12 Texas A&M (22-6, 10-5)

When: Sunday, March 1, noon (Senior Day begins at 11:35 am)

Where: Colonial Life Arena

Watch: ESPN2