Dec. 30, 2004

THE BASICS
South Carolina hosts Seton Hall at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at the Colonial Center. The Pirates enter as winners of each of their last five games, while the Gamecocks look to extend a three-game winning streak of their own. Seton Hall claimed a 59-41 win over Campbell yesterday, with Carolina handing Coastal Carolina a 70-50 setback. The two teams met in South Orange, N.J., last year, with Seton Hall claiming a 57-46 win.

ON THE AIR
Thursday’s 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.

MORE FROM THE WEB
Live stats will be kept online for all four games during the USC Tournament. Simply go to www.uscsports.com, then click on the Gametracker link for the desired games.

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.

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. The most prominent name in Seton Hall women’s basketball history, Phyllis Mangina has been a mainstay in the Pirate program for over 25 years, first as a star point guard and then later as an assistant before assuming her current role as head coach in 1985. This season, Mangina celebrates her 20th season at the helm of the Pirates, with whom she has compiled a 281-274 record.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
• Improve the Gamecocks’ record to 8-3 all-time against teams from the Big East Conference. South Carolina has beaten Pittsburgh twice, Boston College, Rutgers and Syracuse. • Mark the first time this season Carolina has won four consecutive games. The last time South Carolina won four games in a row was a seven-game winning streak that extended from Nov. 24 through December 18 of last season. • Improve USC’s record to 19-3 in non-conference games played at the Colonial Center. • Snap Seton Hall’s five-game winning streak. • Put South Carolina at the .500 mark for the first time since January 28 of last year, when the Gamecocks were 9-9. • Mark the fourth consecutive regular-season tournament championship that the Gamecocks have won in which they won their first game.

A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
• Move South Carolina’s all-time record vs. teams from the Big East Conference to 7-4 • Move South Carolina to 18-4 in home games played at the Colonial Center against non-conference opposition, with all four losses coming this season. • Keep the Gamecocks under the .500 mark. Carolina has not hit the .500 mark since January 28 of last year, when the Gamecocks were 9-9. • Mark the Gamecocks’ third loss in their last four games against teams from the Big East Conference. Carolina lost to Seton Hall last year and split a home-and-home series with Syracuse, suffering a 73-58 loss at Syracuse in 2000 and claiming a 76-58 win in Columbia in 2001.

ROCK AROUND THE BLOCK
South Carolina leads the SEC and ranks among the national leaders in blocked shots. The Gamecocks have rejected an SEC-best 77 shots in nine games this year, for an average of 7.0 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 196 shots. This year’s South Carolina team has eclipsed the Colonial Center record for blocked shots in a single game four times over, swatting 10 shots against South Carolina State, Birmingham Southern, Florida A&M and Jacksonville, respectively. The previous record was seven. The school record for blocked shots in a single game is 13, set against Wofford in 1997.

3FGM STREAK HITS CENTURY MARK
The Gamecocks have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 100 consecutive games during a streak that dates back to November of 2001 and is the longest such streak in school history.

JOHNSON KNOWS HOW TO FILL A BOX SCORE
Sophomore Melanie Johnson, a Barnwell HS graduate, is at her best when she plays an all-around game. Johnson, who ranks second in the SEC in double-doubles with five, has turned in three consecutive double-doubles. Johnson leads the team in rebounding, steals, defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds and ranks second in scoring and blocked shots. In addition, she also ranks among the team leaders in field goal percentage and free throws attempted.

SIMMS’ CITY
Sophomore captain and Columbia native Lauren Simms has been a force for South Carolina this year. In addition to leading the team with 15.3 points per game, Simms also ranks third on the team in field goal percentage. Shooting 48.8 percent from the field, Simms is well above the normal percentage for a perimeter player. Having scored in double figures in all but two games this year, the Spring Valley HS graduate has proven to be a tough cover for the opposition, as she has demonstrated the ability to get to the rim (she leads the team with 46 trips to the charity stripe) and to knock down the trey (she is shooting a respectable 32.3 percent from beyond the arc.)

JONES ADDED TO ROSTER
South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Susan Walvius announced the addition of freshman Ebony Jones to the roster on Dec. 18. Jones, a 5-6 shooting guard from Aiken HS in Aiken, S.C., enrolled at South Carolina last year and served as a team manager during the 2003-04 season and the beginning of the current season. “This is tremendous honor to get a chance to play basketball for a school like South Carolina,” Jones said. “This is a great opportunity and I will do everything I can to help this team.” A nursing major who is a sophomore in academic standing, Jones was a standout playing for coach Aubrey Pompey at Aiken HS, garnering all-state recognition as a senior and all-conference accolades during her junior and senior years. She played in the North-South All-Star Game as well as the South Carolina vs. Georgia All-Star Game.

SLISKOVIC MAKES AN IMPACT
Sophomore forward Iva Sliskovic came into the season with high expectations as the leading returning scorer and rebounder from a year ago. Things have not gone as planned for Sliskovic this year, but she showed a flash of last year’s form in her last three games, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in Carolina’s three wins over Birmingham Southern, South Carolina State and Coastal Carolina. An argument can be made that Sliskovic is one of the most important players on the roster. Considered as one of the best help defenders on the USC roster, Sliskovic has recorded at least one steal in eight of Carolina’s 11 games this year. When she is able add scoring, the Gamecocks look much smoother as a unit.

TENACIOUS D
South Carolina has won its last three games with defense, holding Birmingham Southern, South Carolina State and Coastal Carolina to an average of 45.0 points per game on 53-of-175 shooting from the field (.303 pct.) In Carolina’s game against South Carolina State, the Gamecock defense generated a 28-7 advantage in points off turnovers and a 22-0 advantage in fast break points. South Carolina also put together a 25-8 advantage in points off turnovers against Coastal Carolina.

STRUGGLING FROM DEEP
South Carolina has struggled from three-point range as a team, ranking 10th in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage at .273 pct., while firing up the second-most attempts of anyone in the conference (Carolina’s 18.6 attempts per game trail only Florida’s 19.7 attempts per game.) When the last five games are combined, USC is shooting 19-of-82 from three-point range (.232 pct.) Stacy Booker, who led the SEC in three-point field goal percentage entering the N.C. State game on Dec. 16 at 12-of-24 (.500 pct), has fallen on hard times, knocking down only two of her last 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

TURNOVER TROUBLES CONTINUE
Turnovers have been a problem for the Gamecocks this year. Carolina commits an SEC-worst average of 21.4 turnovers per game. In the five games prior to USC’s win over Coastal Carolina, the Gamecocks turned the ball over 20 times against South Carolina State, 24 times against Birmingham Southern, Middle Tennessee and N.C. State, respectively, and gave the ball away 23 times against Florida A&M.

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.

WHAT’S NEXT
After the tournament, the Gamecocks are back in action when they travel to Charlottesville to battle Virginia at 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 2 at University Hall. 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. ^TMTM