Jan. 18, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Back at Colonial Life Arena this week, No. 5/5 South Carolina opens a two-game homestand against its SEC rivals from the state of Mississippi. The stretch opens Thursday night with Ole Miss in a 7 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network. week.

South Carolina Notables

• Under head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks are 10-2 against Ole Miss, including wins in the last eight meetings. South Carolina center Alaina Coates dominated both games of last season’s sweep, averaging 12.0 points and 14.0 rebounds in the pair of victories. The Gamecocks last three home wins over Ole Miss have come by 22.0 points per game.
• South Carolina’s defense is once again among the stingiest in the nation, ranking 17th in scoring defense as opponents score just 55.1 points per game. Only three teams have reached 65 points against the Gamecocks and nine have failed to reach 60 points.
• The Gamecocks’ free throw percentage has been on a steady climb in 2017. After wrapping up non-conference action hitting just 67.9 percent from the stripe, South Carolina has shot 73.3 percent from the line in SEC action. In the last two games, the team shot 77.1 percent from the free throw line, including Sunday’s season-best 80.8 percent.
• While it was clear the Gamecocks would have to adjust to the absence of A’ja Wilson on offense, her presence may be more felt on the defensive end. Opponents have scored 62.0 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting in the last two games compared to 51.3 points per game on 30.6 percent shooting in the three SEC games she has played.
• Senior center Alaina Coates is making her push for consideration in national player of the year voting as she averages a double-double both overall and in SEC play for the second-straight season. This season’s 14.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game put her 17th in the league in scoring and 18th in the NATION in rebounding. Her SEC-best 69.0 percent field goal shooting is third in the nation, and her 11 double-doubles in 16 games rank her sixth in the country.
• Junior guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore has powerhouse in SEC action this season, contributing 14.6 points per league game (19th) on 52.9 percent shooting (5th) and 3.0 assists per outing (13th). Her outside shot has been especially dialed in as she is tied for the league lead with 60.0 percent accuracy from 3-point range and is third in made 3s per game at 2.4.
• Junior guard Allisha Gray seems to have found her footing in SEC play in the last three games. Breaking out of an early lull, Gray has scored 17.7 points per game in the last three outings, during which she averaged 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

By the Numbers

2 Career stats in which Alaina Coates leads all active NCAA Div. I players — rebounds (1,100), double-doubles (53)
5 Gamecocks who average double-figure points in SEC play this season
6 Games this season of double-digit steals by the Gamecocks, including four of five SEC outings
17.7 Points per game by junior guard Allisha Gray over the last three games, during which she shot 58.6 percent from the field
18.0 Points per game from center Alaina Coates in the two games A’ja Wilson has missed
20 Made 3s by junior Bianca Cuevas-Moore this season, matching her previous career high set in 2015-16
56.9 Percent field goal shooting by the Gamecocks at LSU, a season high

Ole Miss Series Notes

South Carolina leads the series against Ole Miss 20-17 behind eight straight wins and a 10-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era. The Gamecocks two losses since the 2008-09 season were by a combined two points. South Carolina has been especially dominant in Columbia with an 11-5 record with the last three home victories coming by 22.0 points per game.

The Gamecocks swept the home-and-home series with the Rebels last season, topping Ole Miss 81-62 in Columbia on Jan. 28 and posting a 66-45 win in Oxford on Feb. 25. At Colonial Life Arena, the Rebels were on their heels early as the Gamecocks opened a 24-11 first-quarter lead behind eight points off six Ole Miss turnovers in the opening period. In Oxford, the Rebels turned in a strong first quarter but saw the Gamecock defense lock down in the second quarter, allowing just five points on 11.1 percent shooting to open a 34-19 halftime lead.

Rankings Review

Ranked fifth in this week’s AP Poll, the Gamecocks are in the midst of the nation’s third-longest active top-10 ranking streak (62), trailing just UConn (225) and Notre Dame (118) and well ahead of fourth-place Baylor (47). South Carolina has appeared in the top 25 in each of the last 84 AP Polls.

In the Staley era, South Carolina has collected 49 top-five rankings in the AP Poll, including 42 weeks in the top three and 12 weeks at No. 1.

To Three, or Not to Three

South Carolina added a pair of outside threats with junior transfers Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray, but the Gamecocks’ offensive strategy continues to center on the paint. In fact, the addition of the outside weapons has made South Carolina no more reliant on the 3-point shot for scoring this season than last.

This season’s 96 3-pointers account for 22.3 percent of the Gamecocks’ total offense, which is nearly identical to last season when the 190 3s made up 22.1 percent of the total offense.

Interestingly, reliance on outside shooting decreases dramatically against ranked opponents. In four wins over top-25 foes this season, South Carolina’s 12 3-pointers made up just 11.4 percent of its 317 points, which is much lower than the 18.0 percent of the offense in 15 games against ranked foes last season.

The absence of All-America forward A’ja Wilson has also not impacted the Gamecocks’ desire to line it up from outside the arc. In the two games without Wilson in the lineup, 22.0 percent of South Carolina’s points came from long range compared to 22.3 percent in the games she has played.

SEC Active

Senior Alaina Coates and junior A’ja Wilson feature prominently in the SEC’s active leader boards this season.

Coates is running away with the double-double chart at 53 and the rebounding mark at 1,100 — over 350 more than the second-place player. Coates’ 197 career blocks are just two behind league leader Wilson’s 199, more than 60 ahead of third place. Coates is fourth in scoring at 1,476 and in field goals made (546).

In addition to leading the blocks list, Wilson is tied for second in double-doubles with 24 and sixth in scoring with 1,252 career points. She is tied for fourth in rebounding (636) and is seventh in field goals made (471).