Feb. 22, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 7/7 South Carolina travels to Texas A&M for a 9 p.m. (ET) showdown with the Aggies on Thu., Feb. 23, on SEC Network. The Gamecocks (22-4, 12-2 SEC) and Aggies (19-8, 9-5 SEC) have a history of tight games with five of the six all-time decided by single digits.

South Carolina Notables

• South Carolina and Texas A&M have played a tight series since the Aggies joined the SEC for the 2012-13 season. Tied at 3-3, the series features five games decided by single digits, including both Gamecock wins last season. South Carolina is 1-1 in Reed Arena with the two games decided by a total of three points.
• Junior forward A’ja Wilson enjoyed a pair of big games against the Aggies last season, averaging 26.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks. She shot 55.6 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the free throw line. Her double-double (27 pts/10 rebs) in the last trip to Reed Arena included a 17-point first half that kept the Gamecocks within striking distance (31-25) at halftime.
• Tonight’s game features the SEC’s top to rebounders in South Carolina’s Alaina Coates (11.2 rpg) and Texas A&M’s Anriel Howard (10.6 rpg). The SEC’s top defensive rebounder is Coates (7.7), while Howard leads the league on the offensive glass (3.9).
• This game also features two of the SEC’s top six scorers in the Aggies’ Danni Williams (17.7 ppg) and the Gamecocks’ A’ja Wilson (16.9 ppg). In league play, the two flip their order with Wilson posting 17.4 ppg and Williams coming in at 17.1 ppg. In the overall standings, three more ran among the league’s top-30 scorers — Alaina Coates (13.4 ppg), Allisha Gray (12.8 ppg) and Kaela Davis (11.6 ppg). Khaalia Hillsman’s 16.8 ppg make her the only other Aggie on the list.
• South Carolina is winding down what is rated the seventh-toughest schedule in the country this season. The Gamecocks are 6-1 against nationally ranked opponents — with just two of those games at home — to lead the SEC in such wins. Ranked fourth in the most current RPI, South Carolina has played more top-25 RPI teams — 10 — than anyone else in the SEC, going 6-4 against them, and are tied with Florida and Vanderbilt with 13 games against RPI top-50 teams.
• Junior forward A’ja Wilson remains a mainstay in national player of the year conversations as she has again lifted her scoring average this season, pouring in 16.9 points per game while averaging just 27.2 minutes per game. In league play, her scoring average (17.4 to rank fifth in the SEC) is more than a full point over last season’s production (16.3 ppg) while playing exactly the same minutes. In fact, logging just 28.3 minutes per SEC game, she is the only top-10 scorer in the league coming in under 31.5 minutes per game.
• Alaina Coates is one of just five players on current top-25 teams to average a double-double this season, which she does overall (13.4 ppg/11.2 rpg), in SEC play (12.6 ppg/11.2 rpg) and against ranked opponents (13.1 ppg/13.3 rpg).
• Junior guard Allisha Gray has been the Gamecocks’ steadiest guard this season, averaging 12.8 points per game both overall and in SEC action. Her 20 double-digit scoring games is just two behind team leader A’ja Wilson and include two 20-point outings. Gray’s second-half offense in tight games (within single digits at halftime) that the Gamecocks have won includes 11.1 points per game on 63.6 percent field goal shooting (seven games).

By the Numbers

4.0 Assists per game by Allisha Gray over the last five games, a team high
8 Games this season in which A’ja Wilson has shot at least 66.7 percent from the field, including two of the last four
8 20-point scoring games for A’ja Wilson this season, her career high
8.5 Points per game by freshman Mikiah Herbert Harrigan over the last two games on 7-of-7 shooting
9.0 Points per second half by Allisha Gray in games within single digits at halftime (11 games)
10 Games in which the Gamecocks have allowed fewer than 50 points, including six SEC contests

Texas A&M Series Notes

The series is tied 3-3 with five of the six games decided by single digits, including both games last season that went to the Gamecocks. South Carolina is 1-1 in Reed Arena with the two games decided by a total of three points.

In last season’s victories, which came by a combined eight points, A’ja Wilson powered the offense with 26.5 points per game to go with 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game. In the matchup at Reed Arena, the Gamecocks overcame a 31-25 halftime deficit thanks to 60.0 percent shooting in the second half, during which they also hit 14-of-15 from the free throw line.

Road Ready

The Gamecocks are 237-248 all-time in true road games, including a 65-37 (.637) mark under head coach Dawn Staley. In SEC action, Staley is 43-26 (.623) on the road in her ninth season at South Carolina.

League Legends

The Gamecocks are the only team in the nation to boast two former WNBA All-Stars on their coaching staff in head coach Dawn Staley and assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson. Five other programs tout multiple WNBA alums — Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Vanderbilt — but only Beth Cunningham at Notre Dame and Tina Thompson at Texas earned All-Star status at least once in their time in the league.

South Carolina has the added bonus of its other two coaches — associate head coach Lisa Boyer and assistant coach Fred Chmiel — having WNBA coaching experience.

20/20 Vision

Five different Gamecocks have recorded at least one 20-point game this season — A’ja Wilson (8), Alaina Coates (4), Kaela Davis (3), Allisha Gray (2) and Bianca Cuevas-Moore (1) — across 14 games this season. Two Gamecocks have reached that mark in the same game four times, marking the most such games in a season since 2009-10. The 2001-02 team also record four such games. Five games in the 1990-91 saw multiple 20-point scorers, as did seven games in the 1985-86 season and 10 games in the 1988-90 campaign.