Senior night is always special but for A'ja Wilson, the night will feature a gamut of emotions.
The USC All-American will walk onto the court knowing fans in the lower bowl will be wearing costume pearl necklaces in honor of her late grandmother who once told her that "Pretty girls wear pearls".
That will add to the already emotional night for Wilson and her family.
"It's bittersweet to me. It's a great moment to take in," Wilson said. "I'm just a bucket of tears and I know they're coming."
"A'ja's impact on our program, our community, our university, women's basketball, to see her play her last game for us, it will probably be pretty emotional," Dawn Staley said.
Although it's her last regular season home game, Wilson will have plenty of basketball left with the regular season finale at Tennessee, the SEC Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament which will feature at least two games at the Colonial Life Arena. By that time, barring something unforseen, she will be the all-time leading scorer in the history of USC women's basketball.
Wilson is 56 points behind Sheila Foster for the South Carolina all-time scoring record. The Heathwood Hall graduate is just 20 points behind Shannon Johnson for second place, a mark Wilson should reach tonight. Throw in the two SEC Player of the Year awards, her Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor and a national championship and it's safe to say Wilson has exceeded the expectations that were on her when she came to USC as the number-one ranked high school prospect in the country. If she wins the award again, Wilson would become the first three-time winner of the honor. Wilson already holds school records for blocked shots, free throws made, and free throws attempted. Time flies when you are setting records and that's the case for Wilson as she looks back on her four years at Carolina.
"Four years here has meant the world to me," Wilson said.
"This has been a great experience for me. Being coached by Coach Staley - coached, yelled at, however you want to say it - for four years, forming a bond with coach Staley, these four years have flown by but at the same time I wouldn't change it for the world."
She recently was back at her alma mater where he #22 jersey was retired. At some point, Wilson will return to the CLA for a similar ceremony.