Dec. 20, 2005

THE BASICS
South Carolina (6-3 overall) plays the final game in a stretch of five home games in nine days when it hosts Bethune Cookman (2-4 overall; 1-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Colonial Center.

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. Bethune Cookman head coach Francis Simmons is in his second year at the helm of the Lady Wildcat program. A longtime assistant coach for the South Carolina State men’s basketball team, Simmons spent 17 years with the Bulldogs before switching over to the women’s side and taking the head job at Bethune Cookman. Prior to joining the SCSU coaching staff, Simmons served as an assistant coach at Georgetown University under legendary coach John Thompson. Simmons joined the Hoyas coaching staff in December, 1985. During his tenure, he helped guide the Hoyas to a pair of Big East titles. He also assisted Coach Thompson during the 1988 Olympics with Thompson as the head coach of the United States 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.

BETHUNE COOKMAN FROM A DISTANCE
Competing in the MEAC, Bethune Cookman has compiled a 2-4 record during the early portion of the season, with wins coming over North Florida and Florida A&M and losses to Rutgers, Florida Atlantic, North Florida and Stetson. Guard Katie Clark has led the Lady Wildcats on the stat sheet, averaging 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, though her value to the team may best be illustrated by the fact that she is averaging 35.0 minutes played per game. Sabrina Boykin has also logged a lot of minutes in the early going, averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 37.0 minutes played per game. Freshman guard and Charleston, S.C., native Keturah Newkirk has averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season, with all but two of her field goals made coming from beyond the three-point arc.

WALVIUS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Entering Wednesday’s game, the Gamecocks have compiled an 86-42 record in regular-season non-conference games under Susan Walvius, including a 55-9 mark in non-conference games played in Columbia.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 56-9 all-time in non-conference games played at home.
• Improve Carolina to 27-9 in the all-time series against teams from the MEAC.
• Mark the Gamecocks’ 23rd consecutive win over MEAC teams, with the last loss coming at the hands of S.C. State in 1980.
• Mark the Gamecocks’ first five-game winning streak since Carolina won eight straight during the non-conference portion of the 2003-04 schedule.

A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
• Move Susan Walvius to 55-10 all-time in non-conference games played at home.
• Dip Carolina to 26-10 in the all-time series against teams from the MEAC.
• Snap the Gamecocks’ 22-game winning streak over MEAC teams, with the last loss coming at the hands of S.C. State in 1980.

LAST TIME OUT
Five South Carolina players scored in double figures as the Gamecocks rolled to a 94-37 victory over Savannah State in women’s basketball action on Monday night at the Colonial Center. Carolina won its fourth straight game and moved its record to 6-3 while Savannah State dropped to 1-11. Stacy Booker secured game-high scoring honors with 19 points and freshman Demetress Adams tied her career-high with 17 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season in only 18 minutes of action. Lea Fabbri scored 11 points and Lauren Simms and Melanie Johnson both finished with 10 points. USC opened the second half on a 24-0 run to put the game out of reach, holding Savannah State scoreless until there was 9:33 remaining the game. The Tigers scored just 13 points in the second and made only two field goals.

USC DEFENSE AMONG NATION’S BEST
The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank second in the most recent NCAA rankings by holding the opposition to .306 shooting from the field. Carolina also ranks among the top 25 teams in the nation in blocked shots (fifth/7.6 bpg), scoring defense (21st/50.2 opp. ppg) and steals (21st/13.6 spg).

SPEAKING OF DEFENSE…
Through South Carolina’s first nine 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. When Carolina limited Savannah State to 25.6 percent shooting from the field last game, it marked the fourth time this season that the Gamecocks have held the opponent under 30 percent shooting from the field.

GAMECOCKS COOKING UP BATCHES OF TURNOVERS
Sticking with the theme of defense, South Carolina forced Savannah State into committing a season-high 33 turnovers in Monday’s win. Over the span of the last three games against Ohio, South Carolina State and Savannah State, the Gamecocks have forced an average of 29.7 turnovers per game. On the year, Carolina forces the opposition into committing an average of 23.6 turnovers per game.

BOOST FROM THE BENCH
Through South Carolina’s first nine games, the Gamecock bench averages 36.9 points per game against 16.8 points per game from the opponent’s bench. The Gamecock starting five’s average of 34.0 points per game is nearly identical to the opponents’ starting five average of 33.4 points per game, so it becomes clear that scoring production from the Carolina bench is a key factor in the Gamecocks’ success. Over the last three games, Carolina’s non-starters have combined to score 160 points (53.3 points per game).

WHAT’S NEXT
After a much-deserved break for Christmas, the Gamecocks return to action when they host Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on December 29. The game will be broadcast live on WISW AM-1320 with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.