Aug. 2, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Susan Walvius announced the non-conference portion of the Gamecocks’ 2005-06 schedule Monday. The Gamecocks play 10 of their 13 non-league games at the Colonial Center and face five teams that qualified for the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
A road battle with in-state rival Clemson, a home tilt with Big Ten power Minnesota and a Thanksgiving Tournament in the Bahamas that features perennial national contenders Texas and Purdue as well as a George Washington team coming off a 23-9 season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament highlight the slate.
“We are excited about the 2005-06 season and the non-conference portion of the schedule is one that will be a challenge for us,” Walvius said. “We play some of the best teams in the country early on and they will help prepare us for and hopefully give us some good momentum heading into the SEC schedule.”
Carolina first takes the court with an exhibition game against Everyone’s Internet on Nov. 14 at the Colonial Center. The two teams faced each other last year, with the Everyone’s Internet roster dotted with current WNBA players. High Point visits the Colonial Center on Nov. 18 in the regular-season opener, with Winthrop visiting two nights later.
The Gamecocks head to Grand Bahama Island to take part in the Junkanoo Jam tournament on Nov. 25 and 26, opening against a Texas squad that boasts one of the richest traditions in all of women’s college basketball and a Hall-of-Fame coach in Jody Conradt, whose 847 career wins rank her fourth all-time behind only Pat Summitt, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. Following its tussle with the Longhorns, Carolina faces either Purdue or George Washington the next day.
The Gamecocks return to the Colonial Center to battle Georgia Southern on Nov. 29 before breaking for final exams.
After being tested in the classroom, Carolina will be tested on the hardwood as it faces its next five opponents in a span of nine days, beginning with a very good Minnesota squad at the Colonial Center on Dec. 13. The Golden Gophers advanced to the Final Four in 2004 and advanced to the Sweet 16 a year ago en route to winning the most games in school history during the NCAA era. The two teams played before a CBS national television audience in Minneapolis in 2004, with the Golden Gophers claiming a 63-53 win.
Home games against Ohio University and South Carolina State will be played on Dec. 15 and 17, respectively, with Savannah State and Bethune Cookman visiting the Colonial Center on Dec. 19 and 21, respectively.
Following a short break for the holidays, the Gamecocks host Western Carolina on Dec. 29. The Catamounts come off a 2004-05 season in which they won the Southern Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, bowing to eventual Final Four participant Tennessee in Knoxville.
Carolina doesn’t play its first true road game until it heads to the Upstate for its yearly clash with rival Clemson on Jan. 2, and if the last two meetings between the two schools are any indication, the game should be an exciting one. In each of the last two seasons, the Tigers and Gamecocks needed overtime to determine a winner, with Clemson picking up an 87-79 win in Columbia last year and the Tigers claiming a 103-99 victory in Clemson the year prior.
The SEC schedule begins following the Gamecocks’ game at Clemson, and a Feb. 21 date with Longwood at the Colonial Center rounds out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
South Carolina Women’s Basketball
2005-06 Non Conference Schedule
November
14 Everyone’s Internet (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.
18 High Point 7:00 p.m.
20 Winthrop TBA
25 vs. Texas* TBA
26 vs. Purdue or George Washington* TBA
29 Georgia Southern 7:00 p.m.
December
13 Minnesota 7:00 p.m.
15 Ohio 7:00 p.m.
17 South Carolina State 5:00 p.m.
19 Savannah State 7:00 p.m.
21 Bethune Cookman 7:00 p.m.
29 Western Carolina 7:00 p.m.
January
2 at Clemson 7:00 p.m.
February
21 Longwood 7:00 p.m.
* 2005 Junkanoo Jam (Grand Bahama Island)
