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Dec. 17, 2004

THE BASICS
South Carolina travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on Middle Tennessee at 8 p.m. (EST) on Saturday. The two teams have met only twice in their respective histories, with Middle Tennessee claiming a 78-77 win in the first round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament and South Carolina winning a 65-50 decision in Columbia in 2002.

ON THE AIR
The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Columbia, with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis. For listeners outside of Columbia, the live broadcast will also be aired worldwide via the internet on the official web site of South Carolina athletics, www.uscsports.com.

ACCESSING THE WEB BROADCAST
To access the internet broadcast, go to www.uscsports.com, then click the “Audio/Video” link at the top of the screen. Follow the prompts from there to select the game you want to listen to.

SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Season tickets for South Carolina women’s basketball are now available for only $40, making Gamecock women’s hoops one of the best values in town. Playing in the nation’s most difficult conference, plus an intriguing non-conference slate that includes home games against Clemson, N.C. State and Charlotte make for an exciting season of women’s basketball.

LOTS OF GAMES, NOT LOTS OF DAYS
Saturday’s game is the third game in five days for the Gamecocks, who are in the midst of a stretch in the schedule in which they play five games in nine days. USC beat Florida A&M, 88-55 Tuesday before suffering a 75-48 loss to NC State Thursday. The Gamecocks play at Middle Tennessee Saturday before hosting Birmingham Southern and South Carolina State on Monday and Wednesday of next week, respectively.

RAIDERS ARE NOT PUSHOVERS
Middle Tennessee is not to be taken lightly, as the Lady Raiders are the defending Sun Belt Conference champions and are the resounding favorites to repeat as champions of the Sun Belt’s East Division. The Lady Raiders come off a 2003-04 season in which they compiled a 24-8 record and a 10-4 mark in conference play en route to securing a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks have not historically enjoyed much success against teams from the Sun Belt, compiling a 7-7 record through the years. Middle Tennessee boasts two preseason first-team all-conference selections in senior guard Patrice Holmes (who was also tabbed as the preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year) and sophomore forward Krystie Horton. The Lady Raiders became only the third No. 13 seed to knock off a No. 4 seed when they claimed a 67-62 win over North Carolina in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

THE COACHES
Susan Walvius is in her eighth year at the helm of the South Carolina women’s basketball program and her 15th year overall as a head coach. Prior to USC, she coached at Virginia Commonwealth and West Virginia. The 2002 SEC Coach of the Year led the Gamecocks to consecutive top-20 national finishes and NCAA tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. Her 2002 squad advanced to the Elite Eight. Stephany Smith is in her eighth year at Middle Tennessee, where she has compiled a 133-83 record and has guided the Lady Raiders to a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament (1998 and 2004). Smith served as an assistant at Middle Tennessee for four years prior to her promotion to head coach.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
o Snap an eight-game South Carolina losing streak in games played away from the Colonial Center. The Gamecocks’ last win away from home was an 84-61 victory over College of Charleston on Jan. 28 of last year. o Be the second consecutive win for Carolina over Middle Tennessee. The last was a 65-50 win on Dec. 16, 2002. o Be the first win for a Gamecock team over a team that competed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament since a 69-52 win over New Mexico in Albuquerque on December 6 of last year. o Improve USC’s record to 8-7 against teams from the Sun Belt Conference. o Mark the Gamecocks’ fifth consecutive win over teams from the Sun Belt Conference. USC beat Middle Tennessee in 2002 and Louisiana-Lafayette three times in a row in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
o Extend South Carolina’s losing streak in games played away from the Colonial Center to nine. The Gamecocks’ last win away from home was an 84-61 victory over College of Charleston on Jan. 28 of last year. o Snap the Gamecocks’ four-game winning streak over teams from the Sun Belt Conference. USC beat Middle Tennessee in 2002 and Louisiana-Lafayette three times in a row in 2001, 2002 and 2003. o Mark Middle Tennessee’s third win in its last four games. The Lady Raiders claimed a pair of double-digit victories over Georgia State and Georgia Southern before falling to Tennessee Tech prior to Saturday’s game against USC. o Mark Middle Tennessee’s second win over a BCS conference opponent this year. The Lady Raiders beat Wisconsin, 77-74 at the Houston Classic earlier this year.

DRY SPELLS LEAD TO TROUBLE
The Gamecocks enter Saturday’s game with a 2-5 record, despite being competitive for the majority of games. Carolina has fallen victim to scoring droughts in their games in which the opponents have gone on runs that led to victory.

CAROLINA’S DRY SPELLS
vs. Washington (11/14/04), UW-65, USC-53
USC led, 33-24 with 17:02 remaining when Washington went on a 27-5 run to take a 51-38 lead with 5:52 remaining.

vs. UNLV (11/15/04), UNLV-66, USC-63
USC led, 39-36 with 16:18 remaining when UNLV went on a 22-10 run to take a 58-49 lead with 5:34 remaining.

vs. Charlotte (11/30/04), Charlotte-78, USC-72
USC led, 21-19 with 5:55 remaining in the first half when Charlotte went on a 26-12 run to take a 45-33 lead with 1:10 remaining in the first half. The 49ers never gave up that advantage.

vs. Clemson (12/3/04), Clemson-87, USC-79
USC led, 79-78 with 3:02 remaining in overtime when Clemson went on a 9-0 run to close out the game.

vs. NC State (12/16/04), NC State-75, USC-48
NC State led, 44-42 with 12:45 remaining in the game, then went on a 31-1 run to take a 75-43 lead with 1:05 remaining.

SIMMS A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Sophomore captain and Spring Valley graduate Lauren Simms came into the season with high expectations after earning Freshman All-SEC recognition last year. She has not disappointed through the first five games, reaching double-figures in all but one game and averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game. She ranks among the SEC’s top 10 in points per game and set a new career high when she scored 29 points against Charlotte on November 27, then she came back to score 25 points against rival Clemson, with 21 of those points coming after halftime.

A BREAK FROM THE NORM
With North Carolina State set on stopping Lauren Simms from scoring on Thursday, South Carolina got scoring production from Angela Hunter and Larissa Kulcsar, who finished with 12 points and 11 points, respectively. Entering the game, Hunter averaged 4.5 points per game and Kulcsar averaged 2.8 per contest.

THE ALL-WINDEX TEAM
Tuesday’s game against Florida A&M was extremely lopsided when it came to rebounding, where the Gamecocks cleaned the glass to the tune of a 49-18 advantage over the Rattlers. Melanie Johnson led the way with 11 boards, with Olga Gritsaeva adding a season-high nine of her own.

REJECTION IS A PART OF LIFE
With seven players on the roster standing 6-0 or taller, South Carolina is one of the SEC’s best teams in terms of blocking shots. The Gamecocks have rejected 45 shots in seven games this year, for an average of 6.4 shots per game. USC’s single-season school record for blocks is 115, held by the Gamecocks of 2001-02. The current team is on pace to block 179 shots during the regular season. South Carolina blocked 10 of Florida A&M’s shots Tuesday, marking the second time this season USC has swatted 10 shots in a game. The Gamecocks also sent back 10 of Jacksonville’s shots on Nov. 27.

BARNWELL’S JOHNSON ALL OVER THE PLACE
Sophomore Melanie Johnson, a Barnwell HS graduate, enjoyed a career night against Florida A&M Tuesday, setting career highs in nearly every major statistical category. She scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go with seven steals, four blocks and four assists.

JOHNSON PROVIDING SECOND CHANCES
Offensive rebounding has been a bright spot for the Gamecocks, who have been led by Melanie Johnson. As a team, Carolina is averaging 18.1 offensive rebounds per game, with Johnson grabbing 3.6 offensive boards per contest. Johnson notched her first career double-double when she scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Charlotte. She came back to score 15 points and grab 11 rebounds against Florida A&M.

NOT ENOUGH FROM THE POST PLAYERS
Post play has been a question mark for South Carolina through the first seven games, as the two post players who get the most minutes (Ilona Burgrova and Iva Sliskovic) have combined to average only 7.9 points per game on 19-of-53 shooting from the field (.358 pct.) While Burgrova is a true freshman that is still adjusting to play at this level, Sliskovic is already a proven talent, as she is the team’s returning leading scorer and rebounder from a year ago. As a freshman in 2003-04, Sliskovic averaged 11.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

BOOKER ERUPTS
Sophomore guard Stacy Booker enjoyed a night to remember against Clemson on December 3, racking up 28 points and grabbing six rebounds. Entering the game against the Tigers, Booker’s previous career-high scoring total was 13 points. Booker drained five three-pointers against Clemson, matching her season total entering the game.

FABBRI SHOWS POTENTIAL
Point guard play was a question mark for South Carolina entering the season, as no player had any significant experience running the point. Sophomore Lea Fabbri earned the starting nod with her performance in preseason practice, but was taken out of the starting lineup for USC’s game against Charlotte. Fabbri was given another shot at a starting spot in the next game against Clemson, and did not disappoint, as she finished with new career highs of 15 points and 10 assists.

UNDERCLASSMEN ABOUND
There are no seniors on the South Carolina roster. In fact, the team has only one junior. Forward Olga Gritsaeva is the only upperclassman on a roster that features eight sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman.

THREE-POINTERS MADE STREAK STILL INTACT
The Gamecocks have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 96 consecutive games, dating back to November of 2001, which marks the longest such streak in school history.

WHAT’S NEXT
The Gamecocks host Birmingham Southern at 7 p.m. Monday at the Colonial Center. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Columbia and on the internet at www.uscsports.com, with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.