Jan. 14, 2005
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THE BASICS
South Carolina (6-10 overall; 0-2 Southeastern Conference) hosts Florida (11-5 overall; 2-1 SEC) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Colonial Center.
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.
MORE FROM THE WEB
In-depth live stats will also be kept on the internet and can be found on www.uscsports.com. Simply go to the women’s basketball schedule/results page, then click on the “Gametracker” link for the appropriate game.
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. The Gamecocks play in the premier women’s basketball conference in America, and the SEC schedule is one that gives fans the chance to see some of the best women’s basketball players in America night in and night out.
CHEER CLINIC PRIOR TO GAME
A cheerleading clinic will be held prior to Sunday’s game. Call 803-777-5567 for details.
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. Carolyn Peck is in her third year at Florida, where she has compiled a 39-35 record. In her fifth year coaching at the collegiate level, Peck owns a 96-46 overall mark and led Purdue to the 1999 National Championship. For her efforts, she earned National Coach of the Year honors from the Associated Press and WBCA. A former player at Vanderbilt (1985-88), Peck scored 1,240 points during her career.
A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
* Mark the Gamecocks’ third win in their last four meetings with Florida. * Snap South Carolina’s eight-game losing streak against teams from the SEC. The Gamecocks’ last win over an SEC opponent was a 77-51 victory over Alabama on Feb. 12, 2004. * Mark the Gamecocks’ seventh home win this season. All of Carolina’s victories this year have come at the Colonial Center. * Move the Gamecocks’ record to 7-8 against SEC opposition in games played at the Colonial Center. * Mark the Gamecocks’ third win over an opponent from the state of Florida this season. South Carolina claimed a 79-54 win over Jacksonville on Nov. 27, then downed Florida A&M by an 88-55 margin on Dec. 14. * Avenge a 61-56 defeat to Florida last season in which Gator All-American Vanessa Hayden scored 28 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. * Mark the third time that South Carolina has won consecutive games this year. The Gamecocks claimed back-to-back wins over Birmingham Southern and South Carolina State, then came back to win a third consecutive game when it knocked off Coastal Carolina. * Mark the third time this season that Florida has lost back-to-back games. The Gators lost to Florida State and Iowa to start the season, then dropped consecutive decisions to Baylor and Richmond. Florida lost its last game to LSU.
A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
* Move the Gamecocks to 0-3 this year in conference play and extend the Carolina’s losing streak against SEC opposition to nine games, with the last win a 77-51 victory over Alabama on Feb. 12, 2004. * Mark the Gators’ 14th win in their last 16 games against the Gamecocks. * Improve Florida’s advantage over South Carolina to 14-5 in the all-time series between the two schools. * Mark the Gamecocks’ first loss to a school in the state of Florida this year. South Carolina claimed a 79-54 win over Jacksonville on Nov. 27, then downed Florida A&M by an 88-55 margin on Dec. 14. * Mark Florida’s sixth win in its last seven games. The lone defeat during this stretch was to No. 3/2 LSU Thursday in Gainesville. * Improve the Gators’ record to 2-0 in SEC road games this year. Florida went to Arkansas and claimed a 68-56 win on Feb. 6.
CAROLINA’S KEY NUMBERS
* 20:00 – The Gamecocks are yet to win a game in which it trailed at the half. Conversely, Carolina is 6-2 when leading after the first 20 minutes of play.
* 3/10 – South Carolina is 5-1 in games this season when three or more players score at least 10 points in the same game. The Gamecocks are 1-9 when two players or less hit double-figures.
* 40% – Carolina is 0-8 this year when shooting less than 40 percent from the field. Conversely, the Gamecocks’ opposition is 6-1 when shooting 40 percent from the field.
* 60 – The Gamecocks are 0-7 this season when scoring less than 60 points.
* 66 – Dating back to Feb. 23, 2003, USC has lost its last 24 games when scoring less than 66 points.
* 16 – Carolina is 5-0 this season in games in which it distributes 16 assists as a team.
* 10 – The Gamecocks are 0-4 this year in games decided by 10 points or less.
* 23 – …as in the jersey number of Melanie Johnson. In South Carolina’s six wins, Johnson averages 14.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 4.8 steals per game. In Carolina’s 10 losses, Johnson averages 4.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. South Carolina is 6-1 when Johnson scores in double figures.
GAMECOCKS ARE THE SWAT TEAM
South Carolina leads the SEC and ranks third nationally in blocked shots. The Gamecocks have rejected an SEC-best 106 shots this year, for an average of 6.6 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 186 shots. The single-season SEC record for blocked shots is 238, set by Tennessee in 1998.
MORE FROM THE SWAT TEAM
Leading the way for Carolina in the blocked shot department are redshirt freshman forward and Columbia native Lakesha Tolliver and sophomore forward Melanie Johnson. Tolliver has swatted 35 shots in 15 games (2.33 per game) with Johnson sending 37 shots back in 16 games (2.31 per game). With the entire conference season yet to play, Tolliver has already set a new South Carolina freshman record with 35 blocks, eclipsing the existing record of 32 set in 1980-81 by Philicia Allen. The school record for blocked shots in a single-season is held by Teresa Geter, who swatted 58 shots in 2000-01.
CAROLINA DEFENSE SETS RECORD
South Carolina held the College of Charleston to 13-of-63 shooting from the field on Jan. 13 (.206 pct.) to set a new single-game Colonial Center record for field goal percentage defense for either men or women, breaking the record set just one week earlier against Mississippi State, who was limited to 16-of-65 shooting from the field (.246 pct.) The Gamecocks’ defensive performance ranked as the fourth-best in school history in terms of field goal percentage defense and the lowest since holding Florida A&M to 11-of-57 shooting on Dec. 30, 2001 (.193 pct.)
DEFENSE BECOMING CAROLINA CALLING CARD
With the exception of an aberration against Vanderbilt on Jan. 9 in which the Gamecocks allowed the Commodores to score 88 points on 28-of-58 shooting from the field (48.3 percent), South Carolina has stepped up its defense lately, holding seven of its last eight opponents (Vanderbilt excluded) to an average of 49.4 points per game on 122-of-410 shooting from the field (..298 pct.)
TRENDS SAY POST PLAYERS ARE THE DIFFERENCE
South Carolina is 3-0 this year when Ilona Burgrova scores in double figures and 2-0 when Iva Sliskovic scores in double figures. In fact, during Sliskovic’s career to this point, South Carolina is 10-6 when she scores in double-figures (.625 pct.) and 6-22 when she scores nine points or less (.273 pct.)
THREE-POINT LAND IS UNFRIENDLY TERRITORY FOR GAMECOCKS
South Carolina has struggled from three-point range as a team, ranking last in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage at .255 pct., while firing up the most attempts of anyone in the conference. When the last nine games are combined, USC is shooting 38-of-171 from three-point range (.222 pct.) Junior forward Olga Gritsaeva, a .333 shooter from three-point range during her first two seasons, is 6-for-35 (.171 pct.) from beyond the arc this year.
TURNOVER TROUBLES CONTINUE
Turnovers have been a problem for the Gamecocks this year. Carolina commits an SEC-worst average of 21.1 turnovers per game. The Gamecocks have turned the ball over 20 or more times on 10 different occasions this season.
FORMER TEAM MANAGER PLAYS FOR USC
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. 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. Jones saw her first game action against the College of Charleston on Jan. 13, scoring two points and grabbing a rebound.
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
The Gamecocks hit the road when they travel to Alabama for an 8 p.m. (EST) Thursday in Tuscaloosa. 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.
