Nov. 19, 2005

THE BASICS
South Carolina (1-0; 0-0 Southeastern Conference) plays its second game in three days when it hosts Winthrop (0-1; 0-0 Big South) at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Colonial Center. The game is the second half of a Carolina basketball doubleheader, as the Gamecock men’s team hosts Toledo at 1:30 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket prices are seven dollars for adults, four dollars for children 18 and under and two dollars for each person attending as part of a group of 20 or more. Fans can purchase tickets by contacting the South Carolina ticket office at 1-800-4SC-FANS.

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
“Greek Fest”. All fans wearing Greek logos are admitted for $2.

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.

THE COACHES
Susan Walvius is in her ninth year at the helm of the South Carolina women’s basketball program and her 16th 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. Second-year head coach Bud Childers led Winthrop to a 2-26 record in his debut season in Rock Hill last year. He leads a very young team into the 2005-06 season, as nine freshmen and a junior college transfer dot the Eagles’ roster. Childers has served as the head coach at Cumberland College, Montevallo (Ala.) University, Murray State, Louisville and James Madison.

COACHING QUICK HITS
South Carolina Susan Walvius Alma Mater Virginia Tech, 1986 USC Record 115-117/9th year Overall Record 213-218/16th year

Winthrop Bud Childers Alma Mater Charleston So., 1979 Winthrop Record 2-27/2nd year Overall Record 387-266/23rd year

WALVIUS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Entering Sunday’s game, the Gamecocks have compiled an 81-39 record in regular-season non-conference games under Susan Walvius, including a 50-8 mark in non-conference games played in Columbia.

CAROLINA-WINTHROP TIES
South Carolina director of basketball operations Robin Muller served as the head coach at Winthrop from 1993 to 2000. The 1996 Big South Coach of the Year after guiding the Eagles to the Big South Conference championship game, Muller led Winthrop to its most successful run in school history. Despite being an in-state school, the Winthrop roster features only one native South Carolinian, as junior forward Jessica Dukes (Manning, S.C./Manning) is the lone Palmetto State native. Winthrop guard Iva Milevoj is a native of Zagreb, Croatia, which is the same hometown as Gamecocks Lea Fabbri and Iva Sliskovic.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record in non-conference home games to 51-8. • Improve South Carolina’s record to 21-6 all-time against teams from the Big South Conference. • Extend South Carolina’s winning streak to 18 games in contests played against teams from the Big South Conference. The Gamecocks have not lost to a Big South team since 1978. • Mark the Gamecocks’ third consecutive win over the Eagles. • Even the all-time series between South Carolina and Winthrop at five wins apiece.

A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
• Move Susan Walvius to 50-9 all-time in regular-season non-conference home games. • Improve Winthrop to 6-4 in the all-time series against South Carolina. • Mark the Eagles’ first win over South Carolina since a 60-58 triumph in 1978. • Snap South Carolina’s 17-game winning streak in contests played against teams from the Big South Conference. The Gamecocks have not lost to a Big South team since 1978. SERIES TIDBITS • The Gamecocks and Eagles faced each other twice a year from 1975-77. • Carolina and Winthrop have squared off only once since 1979, with the Gamecocks claiming a 90-55 win in Columbia in 1997. • The Gamecocks have won the last two meetings by an average margin of 37 points. • A total of four games have been decided by 10 points or less in the all-time series between the two teams, with the two teams splitting those four contests.

LAST TIME OUT
The South Carolina women’s basketball team opened its 32nd season of competition with a 71-35 win over High Point at the Colonial Center Friday. The game marked the season-opener for both teams. High Point’s 35 points was the fewest ever scored in the Colonial Center. Juniors Melanie Johnson and Lauren Simms led the way for Carolina, with Johnson scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds and Simms scoring 12 points, marking Simms’ 28th career double-figure scoring game. Playing in the first game of her collegiate career, freshman Demetress Adams registered a double-double by scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds, marking the most rebounds for a freshman since Iva Sliskovic grabbed 14 rebounds against Charlotte in 2003.

ABOUT WINTRHOP
Winthrop dropped a 73-48 decision at home to North Florida in the season opener for both teams Friday. After trailing 37-34 at the break, Winthrop pulled within one point in just over three minutes of the second half on a Tiffany Rodd three-pointer. The game remained tight until the Lady Eagles went on a scoring drought after Ashley Fann’s three-pointer pulled them within two points. North Florida held Winthrop to just one point nine minutes and 20 seconds and used 14-1 run to build a 15 point lead. Winthrop managed just six points over the final 14 minutes and 35 seconds of the game. Rodd finished with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, which included six three-pointers.

PALMETTO STATE NATIVES DOT CAROLINA ROSTER
A total of seven native South Carolinians are included on the 2005-06 Gamecock roster, including four players from Carolina’s backyard of Columbia. Lauren Simms (Spring Valley HS), Angela Hunter (Columbia HS), Lakesha Tolliver (Dreher HS) and Brionna Dickerson (Heathwood Hall) all hail from Columbia, with Melanie Johnson (Barnwell HS), Ebony Jones (Aiken HS) and Demetress Adams (Lee Central HS) also staying in-state for college.

TURNING THE CORNER
After two years of fielding a roster comprised almost exclusively of freshmen and sophomores, Susan Walvius now has a roster loaded with game-tested players. Though forward Olga Gritsaeva is the only senior on the team, a total of eight juniors and one redshirt sophomore will take the court for Carolina in 2005-06. Experience is no longer an obstacle for the Gamecocks, rather, it is a strength.

CHARTING CAROLINA’S GAME EXPERIENCE

Player  Games   StartsOlga Gritsaeva    78  38Iva Sliskovic  58  51Lauren Simms    55  54Larissa Kulcsar 55  7Lea Fabbri    49  19Stacy Booker    49  12Shannel Harris    46  11Angela Hunter  30  8Ilona Burgrova    30  20Melanie Johnson  29  10Lakesha Tolliver    26  3Demetress Adams  1   0Brionna Dickerson  1   0Ebony Jones  1   0Total   509 233

ABOVE THE REST
When taking a look at the Carolina roster, it is not difficult to see that the Gamecocks have an extraordinary amount of tall players. A total of eight players are 6-0 or taller, with Carolina’s average height a robust 71.9 inches (just a shade under six feet). To put that height into a competitive perspective, the Gamecocks are the 15th-tallest team in the nation and the fifth-tallest team in the SEC behind national leader Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama.

THE SWAT TEAM
Carolina’s height was a contributing factor to the Gamecocks shattering the single-season school record for blocked shots in 2004-05. Carolina swatted 176 shots on the season (6.1 per game), shattering the previous record of 115 blocks set in 2001-02.

JOHNSON LEADS THE SWAT TEAM
With 54 blocked shots last season, forward Melanie Johnson took sole possession of second place on the South Carolina single-season blocks list. She came just four blocks shy of Teresa Geter’s school record of 58, set in 2000-01.

CAROLINA PLAYER SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS RECORDS

1) 58  Teresa Geter, 2000-012) 54   Melanie Johnson, 2004-053) 53   Michelle Murray, 1990-914) 49   Michelle Murray, 1991-925) 48   Petra Ujhelyi, 2002-036) 45   Petra Ujhelyi, 2001-02

GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
The past two academic years have been marked with excellence for the South Carolina women’s basketball team in the classroom, evidenced by the fact that the Gamecocks set a team record with a combined 3.347 grade point average during the spring, 2005 semester. Juniors Larissa Kulcsar and Lauren Simms both earned spots on the University’s President’s List for posting perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. In addition, senior Olga Gritsaeva and juniors Lea Fabbri and Shannel Harris were recognized with spots on the Dean’s List for GPAs above 3.5. Another two players, Ilona Burgrova and Lakesha Tolliver, also had GPAs above 3.0. Larissa Kulcsar was one of 50 USC Business Majors selected for the International Undergraduate Business Program. She participated in a Study Abroad Program in Germany this past summer. Olga Gritsaeva did her sport and entertainment practicum overseas this past summer and worked with teams from several countries. Her responsibilities took her to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. A total of seven players earned spots on the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll in 2004-05, with Lea Fabbri, Olga Gritsaeva, Shannel Harris, Larissa Kulcsar, Lauren Simms, Iva Sliskovic and Lakesha Tolliver all receiving conference recognition.

FRESHMEN ARE STARS IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL
A pair of the top high school players in the state of South Carolina join the Gamecock women’s basketball program in 2005-06, as former Lee Central star Demetress Adams and former Heathwood Hall phenom Brionna Dickerson will suit up this season. Though their talents on the court have been well-documented (the duo was rated as the 13th-best recruiting class in the nation by Blue Star Index, Adams was selected as the No. 31 senior and No. 10 post player in the nation by All-Star Girls Report and Dickerson averaged an eye-popping 40 points per game in high school and scored more than 3,400 points in a career that was cut short due to an injury early in her senior year), these two student-athletes are more than just gifted basketball players. They are gifted students. With her choice of schools, Dickerson chose to stay home and enroll in the Honors College at South Carolina. “The Honors College at South Carolina is right on the level of the Ivy League schools,” Dickerson said. “That is really one of the main reasons why I am coming to USC. It gives me an Ivy League experience with the opportunity to stay at home. The business school within the Honors College is number one among all public universities and only about 50 people per year get admitted, so I am excited for the opportunity.” As for Adams, the first-team all-state performer plans on earning her degree from South Carolina, then enrolling in law school with aspirations of opening up her own law firm and eventually becoming a judge. “I am very excited to come down to USC because it is a great school in a great location and a great city,” Adams said. “Academically, South Carolina does a great job of keeping its players focused on grades and keeping them on the right track in the classroom.”

SLISKOVIC A KEY DIFFERENCE-MAKER
Since arriving on campus, Iva Sliskovic has been a very important player for South Carolina, as the team’s winning percentage jumps drastically when she scores in double figures. Sliskovic has reached double-figures in 22 games during her career. In those 22 games, South Carolina has compiled a 12-10 record. When Sliskovic scores less than 10 points, the Gamecocks have compiled a 6-29 mark.

3FGM STREAK REMAINS INTACT AT 119
The Gamecocks have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 119 consecutive games during a streak that dates back to November of 2001 and is the longest such streak in school history.

WHAT’S NEXT
The Gamecocks return to action when they head to the Bahamas to take part in the Junkanoo Jam Tournament. Carolina faces Texas at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 in the first round and will face either Purdue or George Washington the next day. The tournament will be played St. Georges HS in Freeport, located on Grand Bahama Island. Both of Carolina’s games at the Junkanoo Jam will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.