Jan. 6, 2006

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THE BASICS
The South Carolina women’s basketball team is back on the road when it travels to Lexington, Ky., for an SEC clash with Kentucky set to tip off at 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.

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 radio broadcast will also be aired worldwide via the internet on the official web site of South Carolina athletics, www.uscsports.com. The Big Blue Sports Network will televise Sunday’s contest, marking the second of at least six South Carolina games that will be televised this year.

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. Longtime Tennessee assistant Mickie DeMoss is in her third season at the helm of the Kentucky program, where she has compiled a 39-36 overall record. DeMoss, who served as head coach at Florida from 1979-83, owns an 84-104 career record as a head coach.

COACHING QUICK HITS
South Carolina
Susan Walvius
Alma Mater Virginia Tech, 1986
USC Record 123-121/9th year
Overall Record 221-222/16th year

Kentucky
Mickie DeMoss
Alma Mater Louisiana Tech, 1977
Kentucky Record 39-36/3rd year
Overall Record 84-104/7th year

OPEN SHOTS WILL BE AT A PREMIUM
Based purely on season stats for both teams, Sunday’s contest has all the earmarks of a defensive struggle. In the most recent NCAA statistical rankings, South Carolina leads the country in field goal percentage defense, with Kentucky ranking 14th in the category. Both teams also rank among the top 20 teams in the nation in blocked shots and in rebounding margin.

STRENGTH AGAINST STRENGTH
Kentucky owns the edge over South Carolina when it comes to perimeter shooting, as the Wildcats have drained 39.9 percent of their attempts from three-point range this season. However, South Carolina’s three-point field goal percentage defense has been excellent this year, as the Gamecocks’ 13 opponents have mustered only 25.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

CAROLINA FROM A DISTANCE
Height, experience, defense 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 enters Sunday’s battle with Kentucky having won seven of its last eight games, with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Tennessee. Even including the loss to the Lady Vols, Carolina has steamrolled its last eight opponents by an average score of 79.4-47.2 (+32.1 average scoring margin).

KENTUCKY FROM A DISTANCE
Kentucky is off to a 10-3 start, with its only losses coming at the hands of No. 3 LSU, Louisville and Wake Forest. The Wildcats have not beaten any teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in this week’s polls. The bulk of Kentucky’s offensive production has come from the quartet of Samantha Mahoney (11.6 ppg), Sarah Elliott (10.9 ppg), Jenny Pfeiffer (10.7 ppg) and Carly Ormerod (9.2 ppg), with Elliott banging inside and Mahoney, Pfeiffer and Ormerod effective from the outside.

CAROLINA HAS WON 5 OF LAST 8 VS. UK
1/20/02 W 78-49 Columbia
2/10/02 W 74-73 Lexington
2/02/03 W 49-46 Lexington
2/27/03 W 97-51 Columbia
1/25/04 L 61-75 Columbia
2/26/04 L 54-71 Lexington
1/30/05 L 50-66 Lexington
2/24/05 W 60-47 Columbia

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ eighth win in their last nine games, with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 2.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ sixth win in their last nine games against Kentucky.
>> Mark Carolina’s second consecutive win over the Wildcats, as the Gamecocks handed Kentucky a 60-47 defeat in Columbia last year in the most recent meeting between the two schools.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ third win in their last five trips to Lexington. >> Snap the Gamecocks’ 14-game road losing streak against SEC opponents. South Carolina’s last road win over an SEC opponent was a 79-64 victory over Ole Miss on March 2, 2003.

CAROLINA TRENDS DURING THE LAST EIGHT GAMES
South Carolina enters the SEC portion of its schedule with a 9-4 record and has won seven of its last eight games. Following are some of the key numbers behind Carolina’s recent tear:
>> The Gamecocks have scored an average of 79.4 points per game while limiting the opposition to 47.2 points per game, for an average scoring margin of +32.1.
>> Carolina has limited the opposition to 129-432 shooting from the field (.299 pct.)
>> The Gamecocks have held a +12.1 rebounding margin and a +6.8 turnover margin per game.
>> Carolina has averaged 19.5 assists per game in comparison to the opposition’s 9.4 per contest.
>> Carolina’s two primary ballhandlers, Lea Fabbri and Lauren Simms have combined to dish out 54 assists and commit only 32 turnovers.
>> The Gamecocks have averaged 7.5 blocked shots per game.
>> Carolina’s non-starters have combined to average 43.0 points per game, whereas the opposition’s non-starters have combined to average 14.3 points per contest.
>> The Gamecocks have converted on 72.5 percent of their free throw attempts. To put that figure into perspective, prior to the last eight games, Carolina was shooting 59.7 percent from the charity stripe as a team.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER TRENDS OF NOTE
>> A different player has led the Gamecocks in scoring in each of the last five games.
>> Stacy Booker has scored in double-figures in four of the last five games.
>> Lea Fabbri has dished out either more or equal assists than she has committed turnovers in each of the last eight games.
>> Iva Sliskovic has grabbed five or more rebounds in each of the last six games.
>> Melanie Johnson has scored in double-figures in five of Carolina’s last seven games and has at least one steal in every game this year.
>> Demetress Adams has made eight of her last nine free throw attempts. >> Lauren Simms has scored in double-figures in three of Carolina’s last five games.
>> Lakesha Tolliver has scored a career-high 11 points in each of the last two games, converting on nine of her 13 field goal attempts (.692 pct.) during that same span.
>> Larissa Kulcsar has made her last nine free throws. To put that figure into perspective, prior to these nine free throws, Kulcsar was 3-for-11 from the free throw line this season (.273 pct.)

USC DEFENSE AMONG NATION’S BEST
The Gamecocks lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (30.2 pct). In addition, Carolina leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage defense (25.5 pct.), blocked shots (7.8 per game) and rebounding offense (45.4 rpg). Carolina ranks second in the SEC in scoring defense (49.5 ppg) and is third behind only LSU and Tennessee in scoring margin (+23.5 ppg).

SPEAKING OF DEFENSE…
Through South Carolina’s first 13 games, only Tennessee has shot 40 percent or better from the field, as the Lady Vols converted on 25-of-55 attempts (45.5 pct.) 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). The Gamecocks have limited seven different opponents to either 30 percent shooting from the field or lower this year.

THE BENCH MOB
Through South Carolina’s first 13 games, the Gamecock bench averages 37.3 points per game against 15.5 points per game from the opponent’s bench. During South Carolina’s seven-game winning streak that recently ended, the Gamecocks’ non-starters combined to average 46.1 points per game, whereas the opposition’s non-starters combined to average 9.3 points per contest.

WHAT’S NEXT
Things don’t get any easier for the Gamecocks, as they travel to Baton Rouge to square off with No. 3 LSU at 8 p.m. ET on Thurs., Jan. 12 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.