March 2, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
THE BASICS
South Carolina (8-20; 2-12 SEC) looks to avenge last Sunday’s loss when it heads to the SEC Tournament in Greenville to face Ole Miss (18-9; 8-6 SEC) at 7 p.m. (EST) Thursday at the Bi-Lo Center.
ON THE TUBE
All games in the SEC Tournament will be televised by Fox Sports South, with the exception of the championship game, which will be televised by ESPN2.
ON THE AIR
The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Columbia, with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis. For listeners outside of Columbia, the live broadcast will also be aired worldwide via the internet on the official web site of South Carolina athletics, www.uscsports.com.
ACCESSING THE WEB BROADCAST
To access the internet broadcast, go to www.uscsports.com, then click the “Audio/Video” link at the top of the screen. Follow the prompts from there to select the game you want to listen to.
THE COACHES
Susan Walvius is in her eighth year at the helm of the South Carolina women’s basketball program and her 15th year overall as a head coach. Prior to USC, she coached at Virginia Commonwealth and West Virginia. The 2002 SEC Coach of the Year led the Gamecocks to consecutive top-20 national finishes and NCAA tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. Her 2002 squad advanced to the Elite Eight. 2004 SEC Co-Coach of the Year Carol Ross leads a solid Ole Miss squad. Formerly the head coach at Florida from 1991-2002, Ross returned to her alma mater when she was hired by Ole Miss in March of 2003. Ross played for the Lady Rebels from 1977-81.
A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
* Mark the Gamecocks’ third-ever win at the SEC Tournament. The previous two wins were against Ole Miss in 2003 and against LSU in 1998. The Gamecocks’ win over LSU was a significant upset, as Carolina was the 11th seed in the tournament knocking off the 6th-seeded Tigers.
* Mark the third time in the history of the SEC Tournament that a No. 12 seed has won a game. No. 12 Kentucky knocked off No. 5 Mississippi State in 2002 and No. 12 Ole Miss upset No. 8 Georgia in 1998.
* Mark Carolina’s third win in its last four games after losing its first 11 SEC contests this year.
* Avenge a hard-fought 57-51 loss at the hands of Ole Miss last Sunday in Oxford. The Gamecocks played without Lauren Simms and Lea Fabbri, but still managed to hold a lead with five minutes remaining in the game.
A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
* Move the Gamecocks to 2-14 overall at the SEC Tournament all-time, with the wins against Ole Miss in 2003 and against LSU in 1998. The Gamecocks’ win over LSU was a significant upset, as Carolina was the 11th seed in the tournament knocking off the 6th-seeded Tigers.
STARTING BACKCOUT OUT OF ACTION
South Carolina’s starting backcourt of point guard Lea Fabbri and team captain and leading scorer Lauren Simms will miss the SEC Tournament. Fabbri flew home to Croatia last Saturday afternoon to be with her family after the passing of her father and will not return to Columbia until mid-March. Fabbri missed games against Auburn, Georgia and LSU earlier in the conference season to be home when her father was hospitalized. She returned to the team for games against Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky. Simms sprained her knee early in the Gamecocks’ win over Alabama on Feb. 20. After being re-evaluated by doctors this Monday, it was determined that she will not play in the conference tournament.
FAMILIAR FOES
For the second time in three seasons, South Carolina and Ole Miss will have faced each other in consecutive games to end the regular season and to open the SEC Tournament. Thursday’s game is a role reversal from the 2003 SEC Tournament meeting between these two schools, when Carolina was the No. 5 seed and Mississippi was the No. 12 seed. The Gamecocks claimed a 79-64 win in that contest. Ole Miss owns a 2-1 series advantage over Carolina at the SEC Tournament, with the Lady Rebels claiming wins in 1993 and 2001 and Carolina claiming the aforementioned win in 2003.
GAMECOCKS CLAIM PAIR OF SEC WINS
After losing its first 11 SEC games this year, South Carolina claimed its first conference win of the season with a 66-57 win over Alabama at the Colonial Center on Feb. 20, then came back to knock off Kentucky, 60-47 in Columbia on Feb 24. Playing without its team captain and leading scorer for most of the game, the Gamecocks came together as a team against Alabama. For only the second time this year, four players scored in double figures in the same game, led by Stacy Booker’s 19-point effort. In Carolina’s win over Kentucky, it was again a team effort, as a trio of Gamecocks scored in double-figures and Carolina dominated the glass, owning a 51-38 advantage over the Wildcats. Iva Sliskovic led the way with her first double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
COMMON THREADS IN ALL OF CAROLINA’S WINS
All eight of South Carolina’s wins this year had the following in common:
* All were played at the Colonial Center.
* The Gamecocks did not trail at halftime
* Carolina had a higher shooting percentage from the field than the opponent.
* Carolina outrebounded the opponent.
* No Gamecock player fouled out.
* Carolina scored more points in the paint than the opponent.
* The opponent did not score more points off turnovers than USC.
* The Gamecocks scored more second-chance points than the opponent.
* The Gamecocks scored 60 or more points.
CAROLINA’S KEY NUMBERS
* 20:00 – The Gamecocks are yet to win a game in which they trailed at the half. Conversely, Carolina is 7-3 when leading after the first 20 minutes of play. The Gamecocks are 1-1 in games that are tied at the half. * 10 – The Gamecocks are 1-7 this year in games decided by 10 points or less, and are 1-12 in their last 13 games decided 10 points or less, dating back to an 81-79 win over Southern Utah on Dec. 5, 2003. * 20 – Carolina is 2-16 in games decided by less than 20 points this year. Dating back to last season, the Gamecocks have lost 27 of their last 29 games decided by less than 20 points. * 3/10 – South Carolina is 7-2 in games this season when three or more players score at least 10 points in the same game. The Gamecocks are 1-18 when two players or less hit double-figures. * 40% – Carolina is 1-16 this year when shooting less than 40 percent from the field. Conversely, the Gamecocks’ opposition is 10-1 when shooting 40 percent from the field. * 66 – Dating back to a 65-54 win over Auburn on Feb. 23, 2003, USC has lost 34 of its last 35 games when scoring less than 66 points. * 16 – Carolina is 6-1 this season in games in which it distributes 16 assists as a team.
UNDERCLASSMEN ABOUND
There are no seniors on the USC roster. In fact, the team has only one junior. Forward Olga Gritsaeva is the only upperclassman on a roster that features eight sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman.
SEC TOURNAMENT A NEW EXPERIENCE
With as many young players as South Carolina has, it bears mentioning that only Olga Gritsaeva has played in more than one SEC Tournament game. Gritsaeva is the only holdover from the 2002-03 squad that finished with a 23-8 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The sophomores on this year’s team have only one SEC Tournament game under their belts, and that was a one-sided loss to Georgia last year in which the Bulldogs put the game away before halftime.
DEFENSE THE NAME OF THE GAME FOR CAROLINA
Through all the struggles it has had this year, South Carolina is a very good defensive team, evidenced by the fact that the Gamecocks rank third in the SEC in field goal percentage defense, limiting the opposition to .369 shooting from the field. In the regular-season finale at Ole Miss, the Gamecocks limited a Lady Rebel offense that ranked among the top-20 nationally in scoring offense to 57 points on 20-of-60 shooting from the field (.333 pct.) on its home court.
SINGLE-SEASON SCHOOL BLOCKS RECORD FALLS
South Carolina ranks third in the SEC and among the leaders nationally in blocked shots. The Gamecocks have rejected 167 shots this year. USC’s previous single-season school record for blocks was 115, held by the Gamecocks of 2001-02.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORD IN SIGHT FOR JOHNSON
With 52 blocked shots this season, sophomore forward Melanie Johnson is sole possession of third place on the South Carolina single-season blocks list. She needs only one block to move into a tie for second on the single-season list with Michelle Murray (1990-91) and six blocks to equal Teresa Geter’s school record of 58, set in 2000-01.
BOOKER LOGS BIG MINUTES
Stacy Booker has become a workhorse during the last five games, averaging 38.0 minutes played per game, dotted by a pair of 40-minute efforts against LSU and at Ole Miss. Booker’s increased minutes have translated into increased production, as she has averaged 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game during that span. Booker scored 19 points against Alabama, scored 15 points against the top-ranked Tigers and set a new career high with seven assists at Tennessee. She just missed her first career double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds against Kentucky.
BOOKER FORCED TO DO IT ALL
With Lea Fabbri and Lauren Simms out of the lineup, Stacy Booker has been forced to play out of position at the point guard spot and has been forced to become the number one scoring option in the backcourt. Both roles are an adjustment for Booker, who seldom played point guard this season and who entered this season averaging 2.0 points per game during her career.
SLISKOVIC A KEY DIFFERENCE-MAKER
The team’s leading returning scorer and rebounder from a year ago, forward Iva Sliskovic has come alive late in the season this year. Since arriving on campus, Sliskovic has been a very important player for South Carolina, as the team’s winning percentage jumps drastically when she scores in double figures. Sliskovic has reached double-figures in 22 games during her career. In those 22 games, South Carolina has compiled a 12-10 record. When Sliskovic scores less than 10 points, the Gamecocks have compiled a 6-28 mark.
MORE FROM SLISKOVIC
Iva Sliskovic has scored in double figures in each of Carolina’s last four games, marking the first time in her career that she has accomplished that feat against four consecutive SEC opponents. Sliskovic enjoyed a career night when she scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the Gamecocks’ win over Kentucky. She set a new Colonial Center record for single-game field goal percentage by going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field against the Wildcats.
YOUTH SHOWS IN CLOSE GAMES
South Carolina is 1-7 this year in games decided by 10 points or less and 2-16 in games decided by less than 20 points. Dating back to last year, the Gamecocks have lost 12 of their last 13 games decided by 10 points or less and 27 of their last 29 games decided by less than 20 points.
STARTING LINEUPS LIKE FINGERPRINTS…NO TWO ARE ALIKE
South Carolina has fielded 14 different starting lineups this season. With the exception of team-manager-turned-shooting-guard Ebony Jones, every player on the active roster has started at least three games this year.
3FGM STREAK REMAINS INTACT AT 117
The Gamecocks have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 117 consecutive games during a streak that dates back to November of 2001 and is the longest such streak in school history.
