Dec. 16, 2005

THE BASICS
South Carolina (4-3 overall; 0-0 SEC) plays the third game in a stretch of five home games in nine days when it hosts South Carolina State (3-4 overall; 1-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Colonial Center. The game is the front end of a doubleheader with the Gamecock men’s team, which hosts Wofford at 7:30 p.m.

GAMEDAY PROMOTION
Jersey Day: all kids wearing a jersey will be admitted for only two dollars.

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 go to the women’s basketball home page and click on “Schedule/Results”. At the top of the page is a link for Audio Broadcasts. Click on that link, then select the game you wish 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. Now in her second year as head coach at South Carolina State, Tonya Mackey spent seven seasons as a Bulldog assistant before her promotion. Mackey originally joined the SCSU women’s basketball coaching staff in 1997 after spending three seasons at Kentucky State University, where she served as both an assistant women’s basketball coach and head coach of the Throroughbreds’ volleyball team.

CAROLINA FROM A DISTANCE
Height, experience and balanced scoring are the name of the game for South Carolina, as the Gamecocks boast eight players that stand 6-0 or taller and rank as the 15th-tallest team in the nation. Carolina’s roster is dotted by eight juniors and one senior, but freshman Demetress Adams has emerged as an early bright spot, ranking among the team leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals. The Gamecocks faced three ranked opponents in their first six games of the season, dropping narrow decisions to No. 18 Texas and No. 19 Purdue at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, then coming home to hand No. 14 Minnesota a resounding 79-61 defeat.

S.C. STATE FROM A DISTANCE
South Carolina State enters Saturday’s game with a 3-4 record that includes wins over Ohio, Savannah State and North Carolina A&T. The Bulldogs traveled to Berkeley, Calif., for a battle with California that resulted in a 94-48 Golden Bears victory on Dec. 10. Senior forward Melaney Denson and junior guard Latoya Dent have led the way in the scoring column for the Bullogs thus far, with Denson averaging 13.1 points per game and Dent averaging 10.9 per contest. The Bulldogs are the top free throw shooting unit in the MEAC, converting on 71.3 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.

WALVIUS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Entering Saturday’s game, the Gamecocks have compiled an 84-42 record in regular-season non-conference games under Susan Walvius, including a 53-9 mark in non-conference games played in Columbia.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 54-9 all-time in non-conference games played at home. • Improve Carolina to 20-9 in the all-time series with South Carolina State. • Mark the Gamecocks’ 16th consecutive win over the Bulldogs, with S.C. State’s last win over Carolina an 85-74 victory in 1980. • Improve South Carolina to 26-9 all-time in games played against teams from the MEAC. • Mark the Gamecocks’ 22nd consecutive win over MEAC teams, with the last loss coming at the hands of S.C. State in 1980. • Mark the Gamecocks’ first three-game winning streak since Carolina claimed victories over Birmingham Southern, South Carolina State and Coastal Carolina from Dec. 20-29 of last season.

SPEAKING OF DEFENSE…
Through South Carolina’s first seven games (three of which came against ranked opponents in Texas, Purdue and Minnesota), no opposing team has shot 40 percent from the field. The Golden Gophers own the highest field goal percentage yielded by the Gamecocks this year at 39.6 percent, but the majority of Minnesota’s conversions came after the game was well out of reach, evidenced by the fact that the Gophers were shooting only 28.6 percent at the half. Carolina limited High Point to only 20.0 percent shooting from the field in the season opener, a mark that ranks as the fourth-lowest total for an opponent in Gamecock history.

GAMECOCKS HIT A NEW LOW (IN TURNOVERS, THAT IS)
South Carolina turned the ball over a season-low eight times against Ohio on December 15, marking the lowest turnover total for the Gamecocks since they gave the ball away only seven times in a 65-64 win over Auburn on Feb. 23, 2003.

BOOST FROM THE BENCH
Through South Carolina’s first seven games, the Gamecock bench averages 32.6 points per game against 18.4 points per game from the opponent’s bench. The Gamecock starting five’s average of 34.4 points per game is nearly identical to the opponents’ starting five average of 35.1 points per game, so it becomes clear that scoring production from the Carolina bench is a key factor in the Gamecocks’ success. In the Gamecocks’ win over Ohio, the bench scored a season-high 56 points.

SUBS IN
A glimpse at South Carolina’s last two box scores illustrates a clear adjustment made by the Gamecock coaching staff, namely, more players are playing more minutes. In Carolina’s win over Minnesota, no player was on the floor for more than 27 minutes, with nine different players seeing 11 minutes of action or more. In the Gamecocks’ win over Ohio two nights later, no player was on the floor for more than 22 minutes, with 10 players playing 11 minutes or more.

HIDDEN SPECIALTY STATS HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE
Though specialty stats are usually buried at the bottom of a box score, they have proven to be an indicator of Carolina’s success this season. In each of the Gamecocks’ four wins, they have held the advantage in all four of the specialty stats categories (points in the paint, points off turnovers, second-chance points and fast-break points).

MELANIE MAGIC
During the course of her two-year career, the performance of Melanie Johnson usually has a large impact on the success of the Gamecocks, and a examination of her career stats certainly demonstrate as much. • When Johnson records a double-double, the Gamecocks are 6-1. • When Johnson scores 10 or more points, the Gamecocks are 8-3. • When Johnson grabs 10 or more rebounds, the Gamecocks are 6-4 • When Johnson makes five or more steals, the Gamecocks are 6-0. • When Johnson leads the team in scoring, the Gamecocks are 4-3. • When Johnson leads the team in assists, the Gamecocks are 4-0.

COMMON THREADS IN CAROLINA’S FOUR WINS THIS YEAR
• The Gamecocks were playing at home. • The Gamecocks led at the half. • The opponent shot less than 40 percent from the field. • The Gamecocks had equal or less turnovers than the opponent. • The Gamecocks attempted more free throws than three-pointers. • No Carolina player fouled out of the game. • The Gamecocks scored more points in the paint than the opponent. • The Gamecocks scored more points off turnovers than the opponent. • The Gamecocks scored more second-chance points than the opponent. • The Gamecocks had more fast break points than the opponent. • The final margin of victory was more than 10 points. • The Gamecocks scored 70 or more points.

COMMON THREADS IN CAROLINA’S THREE LOSSES THIS YEAR
• The Gamecocks led at the half. • The opponent’s starting five outscored Carolina’s starting five. • The opponent shot less than 40 percent from the field. • The Gamecocks shot at a higher percentage than the opponent. • The Gamecocks had equal or less free throws made than the opponent. • The Gamecocks outrebounded the opponent. • One or more Carolina players fouled out of the game. • The margin of the game was 10 points or less.

WHAT’S NEXT
The Gamecocks host Savannah State at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19 at the Colonial Center. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.