Gamecock Gameday: No. 3/3 Women's Hoops Travels to No. 14/15 Texas

Nov. 30, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 3/3 South Carolina faces its second ranked opponent in as many games when it travels to Austin, Texas, to face the No. 14/15 Texas Longhorns. The 7 p.m. (ET) tipoff on Thu., Dec. 1, will air live on ESPN2 and is one of three top-25 matchups in this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

South Carolina Notables

• Tonight marks the Gamecocks’ first participation in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which this season includes seven contests that feature teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the national polls, highlighted by three top-25 matchups.
• Four Gamecocks rank among the SEC’s top 20 scorers this season, the most of any team in the league
• Two-time SEC Player of the Week Alaina Coates needs just six rebounds to reach 1,000 in her career, which would make her just the third Gamecock all-time to hit the mark. Her 994 career boards are the most by any active NCAA Division I player and second most across all divisions. Her 12.8 rebounding average this season is second in the nation as is her .729 field goal percentage.
• South Carolina averages 46.4 points per game in the paint this season, accounting for more than just the post players and making up 52.8 percent of the Gamecocks’ total offense.
• In two games against ranked opponents this season, the Gamecocks average 87.5 points on 46.8 percent shooting while the defense limited teams to 69.5 points on 39.2 percent shooting with a rebounding margin of +14.5.
• Junior guard Kaela Davis is one of two SEC players to rank among the league’s top 20 in scoring and rebounding and top 15 in assists.

Five Second Count

South Carolina is one of two programs in the nation to appear in every AP top five since the start of the 2014-15 season. The Gamecocks have played in four of the last five NCAA Sweet 16s, including the 2015 Final Four. In the SEC, South Carolina is the three-time reigning regular-season champion, including last season’s 16-0 record, and claimed the last two SEC Tournaments.

By the Numbers

2 Games in which five Gamecocks have scored in double figures this season — Maine (11/21), vs. #4/4 Louisville (11/27)
2 Gamecocks who average 20 or more points against ranked opponents this season — Kaela Davis (25.0) and Allisha Gray (20.5)
4 Gamecocks named to the Naismith Trophy Top 50 Preseason Watch List — Alaina Coates, Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray, A’ja Wilson — more than any team in the nation
12 Double-doubles by Alaina Coates in her 39 career games against ranked opponents, including each of the last three and six of the 15 such games in 2015-16
181 Career blocked shots by A’ja Wilson, a school record and the 12th-most among active NCAA Div. I players

Texas Series Notes

The Longhorns won both previous games in the series with the most recent coming in the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas on Nov. 25, 2005. Then-No. 18 Texas managed just a 59-55 win over then-unranked South Carolina in the first game of the event. The first meeting between the programs came in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when then-No. 4 Texas claimed a 77-58 win on its home court in the second round of the event.

Road Ready

The Gamecocks are 229-245 all-time in true road games, including a 57-34 mark under head coach Dawn Staley. In non-conference action, Staley is 19-8 on the road during her nine seasons at South Carolina. She is an even 14-14 against ranked opponents on their home courts after winning the last five road games against ranked foes and nine of the last 13 such contests dating back to the 2013-14 season.

Texas Takeaways

South Carolina has played just five games in the state of Texas in program history with a 3-2 record. The Gamecocks are 1-1 against now-SEC rival Texas A&M in the state, have defeated SMU in Dallas (1/13/83) and have fallen to Rice in Houston (11/10/00).

Tough Tasks

Head coach Dawn Staley did not shy away from a challenging schedule this season, despite having to replace five seniors from last season’s squad. The Gamecocks’ schedule is ranked the fifth-toughest in the nation based on opponent winning percentage (.771), trailing just Washington State, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Texas, respectively.

South Carolina’s schedule features 12 games against teams ranked in either the AP or USA Today Coaches Top 25 this week, including five against non-conference opponents — Ohio State, Louisville, Texas, UCLA and UConn. Just one of those five games are in the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena.

Ranked Readings

Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 41-44 against nationally ranked opponents. That record is skewed by the early seasons of her tenure as the Gamecocks are 26-5 mark since the start of the 2014-15 campaign. South Carolina is 16-5 against top-15 opponents during that time.

Alai-ja Awaits

Opponents may be inclined to think of the paint as the Gamecock-owned continent of Alai-ja as senior center Alaina Coates and junior forward A’ja Wilson have firmly planted the flag in the lane on both ends of the court. Earning All-America and First-Team All-SEC status last season, the duo averaged a combined 27.3 points, 18.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. In the Gamecocks’ 15 games against ranked opponents, the pair were even more dominant with 29.7 points per game, 20.3 rebounds per contest and 4.9 blocks per outing.

Both were on numerous preseason All-America lists this season with Wilson grabbing 32 of a possible 33 first-team votes from the Associated Press. ESPN tapped Wilson as the top player in the nation this season as well, naming Coates the No. 9 player.

Through five games this season, the pair combine to average 30.8 points and 17.4 rebounds while shooting a combined 67.8 percent (57-of-88) from the field.

Designated Survivor

As the lone non-starting post player on the Gamecocks’ active roster, freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan has been put in the brightest spotlight among the newcomers. Charged with learning lessons from All-Americans Alaina Coates and A’ja Wilson, the lithe, athletic Herbert Harrigan is rising to the challenge early in the season, ranking 11th in the SEC in blocked shots at 1.2 per game.

Pressed into service early at #7/6 Ohio State (Nov. 14) when Wilson endured foul trouble throughout the game, Herbert Harrigan reeled in five rebounds in just four minutes in the first quarter.

After the initial trial by fire on the road against a top-10 opponent, the Florida native has thrived in the last four games, averaging 10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Talking Ty

Freshman point guard Tyasha Harris arrived in Columbia with lofty expectations and the ambition needed to play the position under Hall of Famer Dawn Staley. Rated the No. 8 point guard in the 2016 recruiting class, Harris has a winning pedigree with three straight state championships at Heritage Christian (Noblesville, Ind.) and a gold medal in the 2016 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.

Averaging 19.4 minutes off the bench so far this season, Harris is showing the poise and command of the position that originally caught Staley’s eye. Things seemed to click for the young guard against #4/4 Louisville (Nov. 27) when she drew the second-half start and handed out five of her career-high six assists in the final two periods.

For the season, Harris has committed multiple turnovers in a game just twice and never more than two in a game, while she has handed out multiple assists in all but one contest. Her 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 13th in the SEC. Harris dishes out an assist once every 6.5 minutes on the court while turning it over just once every 16.2 minutes of action.