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Gamecocks Eye Eighth SEC Tournament Title vs Tigers Sunday
Women's Basketball  . 

Gamecocks Eye Eighth SEC Tournament Title vs Tigers Sunday

No. 1/1 South Carolina returns to the SEC Tournament title game for the fifth-straight season, taking on No. 8/5 LSU on Sun., Mar. 10, at 3 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.

The LSU Series
The Gamecocks are 19-22 all-time against LSU with a current 15-game win streak against the Tigers. In the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), South Carolina is 15-5 against the Tigers.

In this season’s first meeting on Jan. 25, South Carolina trailed by four going into the fourth quarter but locked down defensively in the final period to allow LSU just 14 points on 33.3 percent shooting. Offensively, it was the Gamecock starting guards who delivered the victory with the trio combining for 20 of the Gamecocks’ 24 fourth-quarter points.

 

By the Numbers
5 – South Carolina is playing in the SEC Tournament title game for the fifth-straight season.

6.5 – Raven Johnson is the Gamecocks’ top rebounder in this year’s SEC Tournament with 6.5 per game.

7 – In the first quarter against Tennessee on Saturday, seven different Gamecocks scored in the first quarter.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina and LSU have met in the SEC Tournament just twice before with the Gamecocks claiming both games. The most recent time resulted in a 74-54 Gamecock victory in the 2015 semifinals en route to the program’s first SEC Tournament title.

  • At South Carolina, head coach Dawn Staley is 14-2 in postseason games when a trophy is on the line – SEC Tournament 7-1, NCAA Regional Final 5-1, NCAA Championship game 2-0.

  • The Gamecocks’ six wins over ranked opponents are the third most in the nation this season and came by an average of 17.8 points. Their 16 wins against NET top-50 teams lead the country.

  • South Carolina makes its strongest move in the second quarter, out-scoring opponents by an average of 8.8 points in the second 10 minutes of the game.

  • In this year’s SEC Tournament, six Gamecocks average at least 8.0 points per game with three others adding at least 5.5 points per game.

  • All-SEC First Team selection and national player of the year candidate Kamilla Cardoso has been on an offensive tear since returning to the lineup four games ago at Arkansas – averaging 14.8 points on 60.5 percent shooting in that stretch. She turned the heat up even more at the SEC Tournament, averaging 15.0 points on 70.6 percent shooting.

  • Freshman Tessa Johnson has been aggressive and solid offensively over the last six games, averaging 9.0 points on 54.8 percent shooting in that stretch. In the SEC Tournament, she is the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.5 points per game.

  • Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley has poured in 13.2 points per game over her last five outings, during which she also has a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.

  • Sophomore Ashlyn Watkins averaged 12.6 points over the last five games on 61.4 percent shooting.

SEC Tournament Take
South Carolina is 33-25 all-time in the SEC Tournament since joining the league for the 1991-92 season. Head coach Dawn Staley is 30-8 in the event with seven championships, all coming in the last nine years.

The Gamecocks have reached the tournament championship game eight times with seven victories. With titles in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, South Carolina is the only program in league history to win four consecutive SEC Tournament title, and the Gamecocks added three more titles in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

 

Ranked Readings
Against ranked teams, South Carolina is 112-67 (.626) in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), and even that mark is skewed by the early seasons of her tenure. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Gamecocks are 97-28 (.776) against ranked teams.

This season, South Carolina is 6-0 vs. ranked teams. Those six are the third-most in the country this season and the most without a loss to an unranked opponent.

Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint, and this season’s numbers have upheld that tradition, despite all the attention to the Gamecocks’ 3-point shooting. The season kicked off with 70 of the team’s 100 points against #10/10 Notre Dame (Nov. 6) coming in the paint, and seven other games have included at least half the total points coming in the paint.

With 54.4 percent of their points coming in the paint, the Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents in that space 47.0 to 23.3 (+23.7) for the season and by +21.8 points per SEC game (46.5-24.8). They are shooting 57.5 percent in the paint compared to opponents’ 38.8 percent.

Last season, South Carolina averaged 43.8 points in the paint to account for 54.6 percent of its offense.

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