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Gamecocks Play 4 Kay Sunday
Women's Basketball  . 

Gamecocks Play 4 Kay Sunday

No. 1/1 South Carolina opens a three-game homestand on Sunday, hosting Ole Miss for its annual Play 4 Kay game. Tipoff of the sold-out game is set for 2 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN2.

Fan Information

  • Because this game is a sellout, doors at Colonial Life Arena will open 90 minutes before tipoff (12:30 p.m.)
  • The Gamecocks will honor breast cancer survivors at halftime as part of this Play 4Kay game.

 

The Ole Miss Series
The Gamecocks are 30-17 all-time against Ole Miss, including a 20-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). South Carolina has won 18 straight in the series.

The teams played twice last season with South Carolina claiming a 64-57 overtime win at Ole Miss in the regular season (Feb. 19) and an 80-51 win in the SEC Tournament  semifinals (Mar. 4). In the regular-season meeting, the Rebels’ defense limited the Gamecocks throughout and stifled them to 26.7 percent shooting in the fourth quarter to force overtime. South Carolina’s offense flowed through Zia Cooke, Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso in overtime to secure the win.

In the 2023 SEC Tournament, South Carolina sprinted to a 25-14 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Cardoso came off the bench to post a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with five blocks.

 

By the Numbers
7 – Over the last five games, seven Gamecocks shot over 50.0 percent from the field, including four over 60.0 percent.

10 – Ten Gamecocks have scored in double digits at least twice this season.

40.0 – South Carolina’s bench has scored 40.0 percent of the team’s points over the last five games (35.2 ppg).

Gamecock Notables

  • This game is South Carolina’s third declared sellout of the season, joining games against Vanderbilt (Jan. 28) and UConn (Feb. 11). It is not only the first time the Gamecocks have sold out three games but the first time in program history that back-to-back home games have been sold out.

  • The Gamecock bench has outscored its counterparts by 20.3 points per game, including a +15.8 margin in SEC action. The group has been most dominant against ranked opponents, outpacing that group’s bench by 22.0 points per game.

  • South Carolina leads the nation with 8.6 blocks per game with Ole Miss tied for second at 6.5.

  • In SEC play, the Gamecocks’ 48.8 points in the paint per game account for 56.1 percent of their offense.

  • South Carolina has scored 1.3 points per opponent turnover while allowing  just 0.7 points per turnover.

  • National Player of the Year candidate Kamilla Cardoso has been especially dominant offensively over the last five games, pouring in 15.2 points per game on 59.3 percent shooting as the senior continues to expand and develop her post moves.

  • Over the last three games, Raven Johnson’s 11.0 points and 5.7 assists per game have accounted for 28.0 percent of the Gamecocks’ offense (22.7 ppg).

  • Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley has been the Gamecocks’ top scorer (or tied for the team lead) a team-high seven times this season.

  • Sophomore Ashlyn Watkins made her first career start at Auburn (Feb. 1) and showed why Staley has always considered her a starter – 14 points, 15 rebounds (career high), five blocks, three steals. It was her fourth double-double of the season and fifth game of double-digit rebounds.

  • Senior Te-Hina Paopao continues to lead the nation in 3-point percentage (.495).

All About Balance
South Carolina’s success this season has been built off excellence on both sides of the ball.

The Gamecocks are one of two teams in the nation ranked among the top 25 in both scoring offense (4th, 89.3 ppg) and defense (14th, 54.2 ppg).

South Carolina leads the nation in field goal percentage (.517) and field goal percentage defense (.308). In SEC action, the Gamecocks also lead the league in both categories – .517 field goal percentage, .345 field goal percentage allowed.

The Gamecock offense is balanced as well with the guards scoring 53.1 percent of the points (47.5 ppg) and forwards adding the remaining 41.9 points per game.

 

Glass Cleaners
The Gamecocks continue dominate the glass, ranking second in the nation with 47.6 rebounds per game. According to Her Hoop Stats, South Carolina is fifth in the nation in rebounding percentage, securing 58.5 percent of the opportunities actually rebounded.

Their offensive glass work is equally strong, ranking 10th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at .399 (Her Hoop Stats). The Gamecocks’ 13.8 offensive boards have yielded 16.3 second-chance points, turning each offensive board into an average of 1.18 points. Against ranked opponents, that efficiency improves to 1.39 points per offensive board.

Three Gamecocks are among the SEC’s top-20 rebounders, led by Kamilla Cardoso’s 10.1 average, which ranks 25th in the nation (4th in SEC). Ashlyn Watkins stands 11th in the league with 7.2 rebounds per game, and Chloe Kitts is next in line at 6.3 to rank 19th in the SEC.

Cardoso’s 3.3 offensive boards per game are sixth in the SEC, and she scores on 45.4 percent of those rebounds. Her 3.6 offensive boards per league game rank third in the SEC. Watkins is 12th in the SEC with 2.6 offensive boards per game on the season.

Great Gamecock Fans
South Carolina fans have led the nation in average attendance in each of the last nine seasons and announced a 16-for-16 campaign to secure 16,000 season tickets to honor Staley’s 16th season in Columbia.

While the season ticket number did not hit that mark, attendance has hit that number three times as the Gamecocks have hosted five of the six highest-attended games in the nation this season, including the first sellout of the season against Vanderbilt (Jan. 28). All of which has South Carolina atop the average attendance rankings at 15,913 fans per game.

The Gamecocks have had at least one sellout of their 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena for eight straight seasons (excluding COVID-limited 2020-21 season) dating back to  the first ever sellout of 18,000 on Feb. 8, 2016. This season’s three sellouts – Jan. 28 vs. Vanderbilt, Feb. 4 vs. Ole Miss, Feb. 11 vs. UConn – are the most in a single season in program history.

Excluding the COVID limited-attendance season of 2020-21, South Carolina has drawn at least 10,000 fans 120 consecutive regular-season games beginning on Jan. 2, 2015.

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