Dec. 27, 2005

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THE BASICS
South Carolina (7-3 overall) hosts Western Carolina (0-8 overall) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Colonial Center.

GAMEDAY PROMOTION
After School Special, all kids get in for 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. Former Chattanooga assistant coach Kellie Harper is in her second year as WCU head women’s basketball coach. Harper, whose maiden name was Kellie Jolly, was a three-year starting point guard for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. She helped guide Tennessee to an unprecedented three consecutive national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and was a teammate of Final Four MVP and current Gamecock assistant Michelle Marciniak on the 1996 squad. Harper earned the distinction of being the first ever first-year mentor to claim the SoCon tournament crown when she guided the Catamounts to the title as the sixth seed in last year’s conference tournament. In addition to her victory last season, she has now been a part of four consecutive SoCon titles after being an assistant coach during Chattanooga’s last three championship runs.

COACHING QUICK HITS
South Carolina
Susan Walvius
Alma Mater Virginia Tech, 1986
USC Record 121-120/9th year
Overall Record 219-221/16th year

Western Carolina
Kellie Harper
Alma Mater Tennessee, 1999
W. Carolina Record 18-22/2nd year
Overall Record 18-22/2nd year

ADAMS IS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
South Carolina freshman forward Demetress Adams was recognized as both the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and the SEC Freshman of the Week after she posted her second and third double-doubles of the year in a pair of Gamecock wins over Savannah State and Bethune-Cookman last week. Adams becomes the first Gamecock since Jocelyn Penn in 2003 to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week and is the first Carolina rookie ever to be honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week, as the conference just began recognizing a Freshman of the Week for the first time this year. She is the first freshman to be recognized as SEC Player of the Week since Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey last season. The Bishopville, S.C., native matched a career high with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in only 18 minutes of action against Savannah State, then came back two nights later to score 12 points and grab 10 rebounds in 26 minutes of action against Bethune-Cookman. Adams converted on 61.1 percent of her field goal attempts and blocked five shots in the two games. On the year, the freshman leads the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) and ranks second on the team with 19 blocked shots and 19 steals. In receiving the honor, Adams becomes just the ninth Gamecock ever to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week, joining Marsha Williams, Shannon Johnson, Annie Lester, Teresa Geter, Kelly Morrone, Shaun Gortman, Cristina Ciocan and Penn as the only Gamecocks to ever receive the accolade.

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. South Carolina claimed a 94-37 win over Savannah State and an 87-26 win over Bethune-Cookman last week, with the win over Bethune-Cookman going down in the record books for being the fewest points allowed in a game in school history. The Gamecocks limited the Lady Wildcats to seven points in the first half and held them to 14.0 percent shooting from the field to set a pair of school records. The Gamecocks have now won five straight games for the first time since the beginning of the 2003-04 season. Carolina ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation in scoring defense (47.8 oppt ppg), scoring margin (+24.7), field goal percentage defense (.289 pct), rebounding margin (+13.4) and blocked shots (7.9 bpg).

WESTERN CAROLINA FROM A DISTANCE
The defending Southern Conference Tournament Champions, Western Carolina remains in search of its first win of the year, as the Catamounts are off to an 0-8 start, with three of those defeats coming at the hands of Michigan State, Florida State and Auburn, respectively. The Catamounts come off an 89-87 loss to High Point, a team that the Gamecocks defeated, 71-35 in their season opener. Lauren Powell and Chevon Keith have emerged as the leading scorers for a Western Carolina team that has struggled from the field, ranking 267th nationally in field goal percentage in the most recent NCAA rankings. Scoring defense has also been a concern for the Catamounts, who have surrendered an average of 77.4 points per game.

WALVIUS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Entering Thursday’s game, the Gamecocks have compiled an 87-42 record in regular-season non-conference games under Susan Walvius, including a 56-9 mark in non-conference games played in Columbia.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 57-9 all-time in non-conference games played at home. • Improve the Gamecocks to 4-0 in the all-time series with Western Carolina. • Mark the Gamecocks’ second win over a team that played in the NCAA tournament last season, as Carolina claimed a 79-61 win over No. 14 Minnesota on Dec. 13. • Mark the Gamecocks’ first six-game winning streak since Carolina won eight straight during the non-conference portion of the 2003-04 schedule. • Improve the Gamecocks to 72-18 all-time against teams from the Southern Conference.

A CAROLINA LOSS WOULD:
• Drop Susan Walvius’ record to 56-10 all-time in non-conference games played at home. • Mark Western Carolina’s first-ever win over the Gamecocks in the four-game series between the two teams. • Mark the Gamecocks’ third loss to a team that competed in last year’s NCAA tournament, as Carolina also dropped games to Texas and Purdue earlier this season. • Mark Carolina’s second loss to a Southern Conference team this year after winning 23 straight against SoCon teams from 1995-2005. The Gamecocks lost to Georgia Southern, 73-66 on Nov. 29. • Dip the Gamecocks to 71-19 all-time against teams from the Southern Conference.

LAST TIME OUT
The South Carolina women’s basketball team won its fifth straight game with an 87-26 triumph over Bethune-Cookman College on Dec. 21 at the Colonial Center. The Gamecocks played five games during a nine-day stretch and emerged unscathed, improving their season record to 7-3. Bethune-Cookman fell to 2-5. Bethune-Cookman’s 26 points marked the fewest points ever for a South Carolina opponent. The previous low was 29 by Florida A&M on Dec. 30, 2001. The Wildcats shot just 14 percent from the field, which tied a USC record. Four Gamecocks scored in double figures. Melanie Johnson led the charge with a career-high tying 19 points, including a 7-of-10 effort from the free throw line. She also pulled down six rebounds and picked up five steals. Ilona Burgrova had a career night as well with 13 points. She also grabbed six rebounds. Demetress Adams produced a double-double, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds. Stacy Booker chipped in with 11 points.

USC DEFENSE AMONG NATION’S BEST
The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank among the top 10 teams nationally in scoring defense (47.8 oppt. ppg), field goal percentage defense (30.6 pct), three-point field goal percentage defense (24.7 pct), rebounding (46.5 rpg), rebounding margin (+13.4), blocked shots (7.9 bpg) and defensive rebounds (28.1 def. rpg).

SPEAKING OF DEFENSE…
Through South Carolina’s first 10 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 established school records by limiting Bethune-Cookman to only seven points in the first half and 26 points in the game, with the Gamecocks matching a school record by limiting Bethune-Cookman to 14.0 percent shooting from the field (8-of-57). 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. The Gamecocks have limited five different opponents under 30 percent shooting from the field this year.

BOOST FROM THE BENCH
Through South Carolina’s first 10 games, the Gamecock bench averages 36.5 points per game against 15.6 points per game from the opponent’s bench. The Gamecock starting five’s average of 36.0 points per game is nearly identical to the opponents’ starting five average of 36.5 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 four games, Carolina’s non-starters have combined to score 199 points (49.75 points per game).

SUBS IN
A glimpse at South Carolina’s last four box scores illustrates a clear adjustment made by the Gamecock coaching staff, namely, more players are playing more minutes. In fact, in each of the last four games, no Carolina player has been on the floor for more than 26 minutes, with at least 10 players playing 10 minutes or more in each of the last four contests.

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’ seven 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).

WHAT’S NEXT
After playing its first 11 games either at home or on a neutral court, the Gamecocks play their first true road game of the year when they travel to the Upstate to battle Clemson at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.