Gamecocks at Duke Wednesday

#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (10-0) AT #15/25 DUKE (8-0
DECEMBER 15, 2021 |  7 P.M. ET |  DURHAM, N.C. | CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM

FAN INFORMATION

• Please read carefully the Health and Safety Protocols for all games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Admission to the game requires proof of COVID-19 vaccine or a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of the game.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• Every Dawn Staley-led team is going to bring defensive effort, but the head coach rates this season’s team among her best on the defensive end. South Carolina is 12th in the nation in scoring defense (50.6) and eighth in field goal percentage defense (.320) – all while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. Only one team has passed the 60-point mark this season
• South Carolina has lifted shot blocking to another level this season with an NCAA-leading 9.2 blocks per game. The Gamecocks have blocked 10 or more shots in a game four times already this season, including matching the school-record of 16 against Kansas State (Dec. 3) and following that with a 15-block effort against #8/7 Maryland (Dec. 12).
• All-American Aliyah Boston has been an unstoppable force over the last five games with all four of her double-doubles this season coming in that stretch. Starting with the Nov. 22 game against #2/2 UConn, Boston averaged 20.0 points on 66.7 percent shooting (44-of-66), 13.2 rebounds (4.8 offensive) and 3.6 blocks.
• Junior Zia Cooke is known to rise to the challenge in big games. Of her 13 career 20-point games, seven have come against ranked opponents, including both of her 20-point outings this season.
• A pair of often under-appreciated Gamecocks stepped up in big moments against #8/7 Maryland (Dec. 12). Senior Victaria Saxton’s seven offensive rebounds included two must-haves in the final 3:22 that resulted in a putback and a free throw to help  seal the win. Junior Brea Beal’s defense was the catalyst for stymieing the high-scoring Terrapin offense, and her 10 rebounds helped the Gamecocks’ monumental effort on the glass.

BY THE NUMBERS

18.5 – Junior Zia Cooke is pouring in 18.5 points per game against ranked opponents this season, shooting 48.1 percent in those four games.

27 – South Carolina’s +27 rebounding margin against #8/7 Maryland was the program’s largest vs at top-10 team in the Dawn Staley era.

43 – The Gamecocks have not been out-rebounded in their last 43 games, dating back to the 2019-20 regular-season finale at Texas A&M.

NOTES
The Duke Series
The Gamecocks lead the overall series 5-2 and are 4-1 against Duke in the Dawn Staley era after winning the last two meetings.

South Carolina has been ranked in the top five for the last five meetings and in the top 15 for the last six. Both teams have been ranked in the top 15 in four of the last six meetings with the better ranked team winning each time.

In their last trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium, the third-ranked Gamecocks suffered a 74-63 loss to unranked Duke on Dec.. 4, 2016.

Road Ready
The Gamecocks are 278-259 all-time in road games, including a 103-45 mark under head coach Dawn Staley.  Her .696 winning percentage on the road is the best in program history.
 

Glass Ceiling
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Gamecocks have dominated on the glass, ranking among the NCAA’s top five in rebounds per game and rebounding margin every season and sixth in offensive rebounds per game each of the last two full seasons. South Carolina has not been out-rebounded since the 2019-20 regular-season finale against Texas A&M (43 games).

This season, South Carolina is second in the nation with an SEC-best +18.8 rebounding margin. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in rebounds allowed (28.2) and offensive  rebounding percentage (.458).

Individually, Aliyah Boston leads the way with 9.7 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the SEC. Kamilla Cardoso is next on the team with 5.9rebounds per game, and guard Brea Beal is third on the team at 5.3.

Block Party
South Carolina annually ranks among the best shot blocking teams in the country and leads the way this season at 9.2 blocks per game after finishing the 2020-21 season second at 7.0, including 7.6 in SEC play.

Aliyah Boston’s 3.0 blocks per game lead the way at eighth in the nation and second in the SEC. Sophomore Kamilla Cardoso – the leading shot blocker in the ACC last season – is seventh in the SEC at 1.8 blocks per game, and Laeticia Amihere”s 1.4 blocks per game are 12th.