Women's Basketball . December 6, 2019

One More on the Road for Gamecocks

Women's basketball closes out a five-game road swing Saturday at Temple.

No. 6/7 South Carolina closes out a five-game road stretch with a 3 p.m. Saturday tipoff at Temple. The Gamecocks are coming off a pair of wins in the Paradise Jam to win the Reef Division of that tournament.

ABOUT THIS GAME

The Gamecocks are 4-0 against Temple, including wins in each of the last two seasons.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has been involved in all four meetings between the Gamecocks and Owls, spending two on each team’s sideline.
The connection between the two head coaches today goes beyond each spending time leading the Temple Owls. Staley and Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza were teammates at Virginia for three seasons (1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91), helping the Cavaliers to two ACC regular-season championships and the 1991 NCAA championship game, after which both were named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team with Staley earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

South Carolina is coming off a 15-point victory over then-#2/2 Baylor that clinched the Paradise Jam Reef Division championship and matched the highest-ranked win in program history. A sharp first quarter put the Lady Bears on their heels, and a dominant fourth quarter delivered the defense-dominant victory.
A pair of Gamecocks made the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List – Aliyah Boston, Tyasha Harris – the USBWA announced this week. It was the second time this week that the organization honored Boston, who also picked up its National Freshman of the Week award.
Senior point guard Tyasha Harris was a key catalyst to the Gamecocks’ win over Baylor with 20 points and seven assists. With the two combined, she had her hands on 35 of the team’s 74 points (47.3 percent). On the season, Harris touches 27.5 percent of the team’s scoring, including 37.1 percent of the total offense against ranked opponents.
Senior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan has been on a mission the last six games, averaging 15.5 points on 56.7 percent shooting, including 13-of-20 shooting (.650) over the last two contests. She is pulling in 6.8 rebounds per game during the stretch, which includes two 20-point games.
Freshman Aliyah Boston dominated her return to St. Thomas last week, shooting 75.0 percent from the field for 15.0 points per game while also pulling in 7.7 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures every game of her college career and is second in the country in field goal percentage (.730).
Only one opponent has scored 60 or more points against the Gamecocks this season – Indiana (71).
Far and away the SEC’s active assist leader, senior Tyasha Harris ranks third among active NCAA Div. I players with 557 career assists. Her 115 career games is eighth.
The Gamecocks are among the nation’s top 10 in five different stats – scoring defense (8th), scoring margin (5th), FG% defense (2nd), reb/gm (6th), blocks/gm (1st).
South Carolina has shot 45.0 percent or better from the field in seven of its nine games this season.