Nov. 24, 2003

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South Carolina welcomes the Appalachian State Mountaineers to the Colonial Center tonight in the first home game of the season for the Gamecocks. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

Fans can purchase tickets at the door or beforehand at the USC Ticket Office. Any one who presents the ticket stub from Saturday’s Clemson vs. South Carolina football game, receives a $2 ticket tonight.

Tonight’s contest will mark the first game of the year for the Mountaineers while USC is 0-1 after a Friday night loss at Clemson.

The two teams have met 13 times in the past with South Carolina owning a 9-4 overall advantage and a 4-1 lead in Columbia. USC defeated ASU, 77-61, in their last meeting on November 19, 1997, in Boone, North Carolina, in Susan Walvius’ debut as the new Gamecock head coach.

Walvius enters her seventh season at South Carolina, and despite taking on a total program renovation, the Virginia-native is only six victories away from her 100th-win at USC. The Gamecocks are led by senior guards Cristina Ciocan and Kelly Morrone and sophomore forward Olga Gritsaeva.

Mountaineer head coach Adrienne Shuler enters her second year at the ASU helm after assisting seven seasons at Furman under then head coach Sherry Carter. A 1992 graduate of Georgia, Shuler was a four-year letterwinner at point guard for the Lady Bulldogs and led UGA to the 1991 SEC Championship. The ASU roster features two players from South Carolina (Spartanburg’s Shante Williams and Jessica Jank) and two players (Michelle Conklin and Jocelyn Wyatt) from Lawrenceville, Georgia, hometown of Gamecock guards Stacy Booker and Shannel Harris.