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South Carolina women’s basketball player arrested on assault, kidnapping charges
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
South Carolina women’s basketball player Ashlyn Watkins was arrested on Saturday on charges of assault and kidnapping.
According to WLTX-TV in Columbia, Watkins was accused of “forcefully grabb[ing]” the face of a female victim, “pulling her by her arms, and pushing her” at a student housing complex located on-campus. Watkins also allegedly “grabbed the victim’s head and forced her to walk down the hall, thus controlling her movement while preventing her from leaving”.
The unidentified victim reportedly was able to alert authorities to the incident by pulling the fire alarm. Police arrived and later arrested Watkins on the assault and kidnapping charges. She posted a $30,000 bond and was released on Saturday afternoon, according to WLTX.
As a sophomore, Watkins averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks, who finished with an undefeated record en route to a 2nd NCAA championship in three seasons. In the Final Four against NC State, she posted a career-high 20 rebounds.
South Carolina opens the season against the Wolfpack on Nov. 10 in the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
