Dec. 28, 2003

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The South Carolina women’s basketball team returns to the court Tuesday after a 10-day holiday break from basketball for a first-ever meeting with the Seton Hall Pirates. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. ET with all the action broadcast on WISW Radio (1320 am) with Andy Demetra and Robin Muller providing the commentary.

The Gamecocks are 8-2 on the season and had their eight-game winning streak snapped last Saturday afternoon by 15th-ranked North Carolina, 77-53, in the Beach Ball Classic.

South Carolina leads the SEC in scoring with an average of 82.9 points per contest. The Gamecock offensive attack features four players in double figures. USC is led by All-America candidate Cristina Ciocan who is averaging 17.2 points per game and leads the nation in assists with 9.56 per game. The senior from Romania recorded a career-high 33 points at Charlotte on December 14th and notched a school-record 18 assists against Florida A&M in November.

Senior team captain Kelly Morrone is second on the team in scoring with an average of 14.4 points per game. The New York native is a quick point-producer from behind the arc with the country’s 11th best average of 3.5 treys per game. Her 3.5 three-point field goals per game average is tops in the SEC.

With the Gamecock backcourt led by Ciocan and Morrone, the frontline features two 6-4 underclassmen who are patrolling the paint for South Carolina so far this season. In just 10 collegiate games, freshman Iva Sliskovic has already scored in double figures in seven games and has recorded three double-doubles with an average of 7.5 rebounds a game. Her 66.3% field goal percentage leads the SEC. Her partner in the post, sophomore Olga Gritsaeva is fourth on the team in scoring (behind Sliskovic) at 11.9 ppg and leads the team with 8.2 boards per contest.

Seton Hall enters today’s contest with a 7-3 record and on a five-game winning streak. The Pirates are paced by Ashley Bush’s 9.7 ppg average. The junior from Frederick, Maryland, is tied with senior LaNedra Brown for the team lead in rebounding. Seton Hall and South Carolina share common wins over Charlotte (USC 84-67 on 12/14/03; SHU 77-67 on 11/22/03)