South-Carolina
Sahnya Jah brings lessons learned with South Carolina women’s basketball to Arizona
Sometimes it’s worse to keep something quiet than to air it publicly. Such was the case with Arizona forward Sahnya Jah and her suspension while at South Carolina.
Dawn Staley suspended Jah on Feb. 8, 2024, citing “conduct detrimental to the team.” Nothing further was reported in the media about the reason for the suspension, although Staley said that Jah could work herself back onto the team.
As it turns out, it was a relatively inconsequential matter. Jah missed several classes. Staley held her accountable. Both have moved on, but Jah learned some valuable lessons from the legendary head coach that she brings with her to Arizona.
“Everything is not a joke,” Jah said. “She taught me a lot of things, not just on the court, but also off the court—like time management, be on time to things, how you carry yourself—and I really, really do appreciate that.”
She’s drawing on those lessons while she writes a new chapter, but she’s not ruminating on them.
“Don’t let your mistakes define you,” Jah told the fans who joined for the Wildcats’ open practice earlier this month.
Barnes was not concerned about the issues at South Carolina because she has a longstanding relationship with Staley and Arizona assistant coach Bett Shelby has known Jah for years.
“I knew Jah before from recruiting,” Barnes said in June. “I had a really, really good relationship with Dawn, so I talked to Dawn about it, and I just knew it was the right thing to do. And you have to remember even before that, Bett Shelby goes back with Jah like four years. Jah was committed to West Virginia before Bett left. So there is a really longstanding relationship with her, her family, everything, so we’ve known Jah.”
Barnes recruited Jah when she was in high school, but Arizona was a long way to go for the No. 40 player in the 2023 class. Jah is originally from Alexandria, Virginia. She earned WBCA All-American honorable mention her senior season while playing for Montverde Academy in Florida.
“It takes our freshman to go away somewhere and then kind of spread their wings and they’re like, ‘Oh, okay,’” Barnes said.
In addition to the sophomore being more adventurous now, Shelby being on staff was definitely an advantage when recruiting Jah this time around. It wasn’t just about that, though. Jah came back to academics when she talked about her reasons for choosing the Wildcats. It’s a reason that several transfers have given in recent years.
“Honestly, it was the academics and the academic support,” Jah said. “When I came on a visit here and I seen the support system of how they really care about their students, student-athletes, academic wise, it was very trustworthy.”
On the court, Jah gives the Wildcats more depth in the frontcourt. It was a huge issue last year when the team suffered defections and injuries that whittled the roster to three post players and eight players overall. Guards Helena Pueyo and Skylar Jones were often called into frontcourt duties when foul trouble became a problem for the bigs. The loss of Esmery Martinez after last season also needed to be addressed.
Barnes believes Jah’s addition will allow the coaches to be more creative in how they use Montaya Dew.
“She’s gonna really do well here,” Barnes said. “I’m just watching her workouts and we haven’t had an athlete like her and Montaya in that position for a while. The four is a very important position for us. It’s what all of our offense goes through. It’s the top of our press. It’s the person that’s on 90 percent of on-balls. And we lost a good player in Esmery. So getting these young players that we can develop, that can be very special, it’s fun. I think you guys are gonna see that. And I think the size of Jah and Montaya, they can be a three, four, they can switch, they can do a lot of things defensively, I think it’s gonna be a really good combination.”
Jah averaged just over nine minutes per game in the 16 games she played for South Carolina last season. She went for 3.1 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting. She had 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 steals.
The sophomore played mostly with the returning starters during the team’s open practice. She hit several shots from the elbow during the halfcourt scrimmage.
Jah and her teammates will begin their season with an exhibition against West Texas A&M on Friday, Oct. 25. The game will tip off in McKale Center at 6 p.m. MST. Unlike in previous years, both exhibitions will be streamed this season. Steve Quis and Joan Bonvicini will have the call on ESPN+.
NOTE: The above video is a livestream of WIS featuring current newscasts, Soda City Living and Gray Media’s Local News Live.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer has been nominated for a position in foreign diplomacy.
The White House on Tuesday listed Bauer as a nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belize, a Central American country bordering Guatemala.
It’s unclear when a confirmation hearing will take place. WIS has reached out to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee for more information.
Bauer was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor from 2003-2011, serving under then-Gov. Mark Sanford. Before that, he served terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate.
More recently, Bauer entered the race for U.S. Senate in July 2025, looking to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary. He ended his campaign the following month.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
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