Gamecocks On the Road at Auburn Thursday

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (.511), including six games shooting at least 60.0 percent from the field. The most recent such game was on Sunday when the Gamecocks shot 61.5 percent against #5/4 Vanderbilt, which was the fourth-best shooting percentage against a ranked opponent in program history.

• The Gamecocks are fourth in the country in scoring average (89.0), including 81.1 points per SEC game to rank second in the league.

• South Carolina is 19th in the nation with 12.8 turnovers per game, and it has allowed opponents to score just 10.8 points off those miscues, which is the 12th-lowest average in the country.

• The Gamecocks are 11th in the nation with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, led by Raven Johnson’s 3.7 mark, which is fourth-best in the country.

• Senior Raven Johnson and sophomore Joyce Edwards earned spots on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List released earlier this week. South Carolina is one of three teams with multiple representatives, and the Gamecock duo is two of the 12 SEC entries on the 25-player list.

• National Player of the Year candidate Joyce Edwards has been dominant on the offensive end this season, ranking 18th in the nation in scoring (20.0 ppg) and 16th in field goal percentage (.591). She has been the team’s top scorer 13 times and has 11 20-point games. The ever-active sophomore has drawn 4.7 fouls per game this season, including 5.1 in SEC play. Defensively, she is ninth in the SEC with 1.4 blocks per game and 11th in steals per game at 2.1.

• Senior Ta’Niya Latson posted her first 20-point SEC game on Sunday with 21 against #5/4 Vanderbilt. She has five 20-point outings this season to rank 12th in the SEC with 15.7 points per game. She is eighth in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 49.5 percent from the field.

• Junior Tessa Johnson is the SEC’s top 3-point percentage shooter at 46.6 percent, which ranks sixth in the nation, and her 2.6 made 3s per game are fifth in the league. Outside shooting accounts for just 55.5 percent of her total offense, however. Her 48.8 overall field goal percentage ranks 11th in the league, and she is one of just two players ranked in the league’s top 15 of both shooting percentages.

By the Numbers
1.206 – The Gamecocks are second in the nation with 1.206 points per offensive possession, per Synergy.

6.4 – South Carolina leads the SEC with 6.4 blocks per conference game.

7 – The Gamecocks have posted a program-record seven 100-point games this season.

The Auburn Series
The Gamecocks are 31-21 all-time against the Tigers but just 12-12 in Auburn. South Carolina’s 19-3 record in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09) includes the current 16-game win streak (7 at Auburn).

The two teams last met on Feb. 2, 2025, in Columbia with the Gamecocks securing an 83-66 victory behind a team-high 18 points from Joyce Edwards on 8-of-11 shooting. South Carolina had to chip away at the Tigers slowly, establishing a five-point lead after the first quarter and doubling it to 10 by halftime.

In their last trip to Auburn, the Gamecocks claimed a 76-54 decision (Feb. 1, 2024). The game was close through the first half as then-No. 1 South Carolina struggled shooting the ball, but the Gamecocks righted the ship with 56.3 percent accuracy in the second half.

Ranking Review
South Carolina is currently ranked No. 3 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll.

It marks the Gamecocks’ 129th consecutive entry in the AP top 10, beginning with the 2019-20 preseason poll. It is the longest active streak and the eighth longest in the history of that poll (7th is 137, Baylor). Their 260 straight appearances in the AP Poll, dating back to Dec. 10, 2012, mark the second-longest active streak in the nation and is the sixth longest all-time (5th, Duke/Stanford, 312).

In the USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll, South Carolina has been in the top 10 since claiming the No. 10 spot in the 2019-20 preseason poll.

A-got Send
Freshman guard Agot Makeer was ranked sixth in the Class of 2025 and drew McDonald’s All-America and honorable mention Naismith All-America honors out of Montverde Academy (FL). She opened her college career on the USWBA Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Year and the Wooden Award watch lists.

The long, lithe Makeer is averaging 6.7 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds per game, which leads the guards. In SEC games, her scoring rises to 7.9 points, and she is third on the team with 1.6 steals per league game.