Gamecocks Face Aggies Monday Night
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (7-0) VS. NORTH CAROLINA A&T (0-5)
NOVEMBER 29, 2021 | 7 P.M. ET | COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (18,000)
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- With the same starting five from last season’s NCAA Final Four team, South Carolina’s bench was a hot topic coming into the season. So far, the group has delivered, averaging 25.7 points, which accounts for 33.7 percent of the total offense, and 18.1 rebounds, which is 41.8 percent of the team total.
- The Gamecock offense has been incredibly efficient this season, ranking seventh in the nation with 49.6 percent field goal shooting. Three-point shooting has been exceptional as well with the team ranking 21st in the nation at 39.6 percent outside shooting. Six Gamecocks are shooting better than 50.0 percent from the field, including three starters – Aliyah Boston (.544), Brea Beal (.581) and Victaria Saxton (.571). Boston is third in the SEC and 54th in the nation in the category.
- Defense has long been the hallmark of the Dawn Staley-coached Gamecocks, and this season’s team is on brand, allowing just 51.6 points per game with just one team eclipsing the 60-point mark.
- While South Carolina’s offense picks up in the second half, it’s the game-long defensive effort that truly takes effect in the second half. Opponents are shooting 32.2 percent in the second half compared to 36.9 percent in the first. Another marker of the Gamecocks’ stamina is turnover margin which goes from -2.9 in the first half to +1.6 in the second.
- The Gamecocks lead the nation in rebounding margin (+17.6) thanks to great control of their defensive glass as they corral an SEC-best 75.6 percent of their opponents’ missed shots. They are second in the league in offensive rebounding percentage (.465).
- Three of South Carolina’s seven wins this season have come against ranked opponents, the most in the country. All of been against top-10 foes and all on the road or at a neutral site.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – South Carolina is one of three programs to play in at least three of the last six NCAA Final Fours.
17 – Junior Zia Cooke needs just 17 points to reach 1,000 in her career.
21.3 – The Gamecocks have come out of halftime in fire all season, averaging 21.3 points per third quarter – the highest mark of the game.
NOTES
The NC A&T Series
South Carolina has won all three games of the series with NC A&T. Two of the three meetings have come in postseason play.
The most recent matchup came in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when the Gamecocks posted a 63-52 win in the first-round game on March 16 in Colonial Life Arena en route to a spot in the Elite Eight.
The other postseason game was in the first round of the 2008 WNIT, a 102-74 victory in Colonial Life Arena.
Home Sweet Home
The Gamecocks are 482-165 (.745) all-time in home games, including a 170-34 mark under head coach Dawn Staley. Her .833 winning percentage at home is second among the program’s seven all-time head coaches (Pam Parsons (41-7) .854).
Playing in its 19th season at Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina boasts a 233-67 (.777) record in the building, including three undefeated seasons since 2013-14. Staley’s share of that record is 167-34 (.831).
All-Everything Aliyah Boston
From her career debut triple-double to becoming the only 2021 finalist for both the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, junior Aliyah Boston has spent two seasons on the national stage. In her third campaign, she is poised to rise to the top step.
Boston entered her third season as a two-time All-American and two-time Lisa Leslie Center Award winner. She averages a double-double for her career (13.2 ppg/10.1 rpg) while her 31 career double-doubles is second among active SEC players and ranks eighth in program history. In 31 career games against ranked opponents, her averages rise to 13.9 ppg and 11.4 rpg.
Boston is USA Today’s Preseason Player of the Year and a unanimous First-Team All-American. Dropping over 20 pounds since the start of her sophomore season, Boston was all about basketball this summer, helping the U.S. to gold at the FIBA AmeriCup and spending time training with NBA legend Tim Duncan.
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 (41 games).
This season, South Carolina leads the nation with a +17.6 rebounding margin. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in rebounds allowed (25.9) and have secured 75.6 percent of an opponent’s missed shots.
Individually, Aliyah Boston leads the way with 7.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 13th in the SEC. Four other Gamecocks average at least 4.0 rebounds, including junior guard Brea Beal, who is third on the team at 4.4.
Block Party
South Carolina annually ranks among the best shot blocking teams in the country and finished the 2020-21 season second in the nation with 7.0 blocks per game, including 7.6 in SEC play.
This season is no different with South Carolina fourth in the country with 7.9 blocks per game., which ranks third in the SEC.
Aliyah Boston’s 2.3 blocks per game lead the way at 29th in the nation and third in the SEC. Sophomore Kamilla Cardoso – the leading shot blocker in the ACC last season – is ninth in the SEC at 1.6 blocks per game, and Victaria Saxton’s 1.3 blocks per game are 13th.
