December 30, 2001

The 17th-ranked South Carolina sent a final message to its Southeastern Conference foes Sunday night – loud and clear — USC will be a force when SEC play starts later this week. Carolina turned in a decisive 82-29 pounding of visiting Florida A&M in the Lady Gamecocks’ final non-conference game at Carolina Coliseum.

South Carolina (12-1), off to the best start of a season in school history, held the Rattlerettes (3-6) without a point in the first 14:16 of the first half. FAMU’s first point came at the foul line as Phaedra Mashburn converted two-of-two at 5:44 in the half.

The Lady Gamecocks jumped out to a 26-0 lead during the stretch and continued to pour it on. Carolina lead 41-8 at the break, and at one point enjoyed a lead of 56 points in the final stages of the game.

Jocelyn Penn lead all scorers with 22 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in 29 minutes to pace the USC effort. Shaun Gortman pitched in 16 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Of the 12 Lady Gamecocks who saw action, 11 scored at least two points.

No FAMU player reached double-figures as Mashburn and Deidra Bateman scored seven points apiece to lead the Rattlerettes.

“I’m excited for our players,” said Carolina coach Susan Walvius. “They’ve come out and worked very hard. Defense has been the key to our team all year, and tonight was no exception. We did a nice job attacking their zone, and we should see some zone against Vanderbilt.”

The USC defense, sharp all season as Walvius mentioned, was dominant as FAMU shot just 19.3% on the night and missed their first 20 shots from the floor. Carolina, meanwhile, was far more efficient on the offensive end, shooting 40% from the field.

The blowout win is nothing new for the Lady Gamecocks. Over Carolina’s last five wins, USC has averaged a 37.6 margin of victory, some 20 points larger than its 17.6 season-long average margin of victory entering the FAMU contest.

Already 2-0 versus Top 20 teams with wins at No. 9 Duke (87-81) and No. 16 North Carolina (85-53), South Carolina hosts No. 3 Vanderbilt January 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Carolina Coliseum for the SEC opener for both national powers.