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Jan. 27, 2006

THE BASICS
The South Carolina women’s basketball team hosts Arkansas at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Colonial Center.

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.
Fox Sports South will televise Sunday’s game, with Bernie Guenther handling play-by-play and Van Chancellor providing analysis.

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.

GAMEDAY PROMOTION
Bring your “A” game; Kids get in for only $2 if they bring in a report card with an “A” on it.

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 third season at Arkansas, Susie Gardner has the Hogs off to a solid start to the SEC season. At her prior post, Gardner enjoyed a good deal of success at Austin Peay State University, where she closed out her years with a complete sweep, undefeated regular-season title and postseason tournament championship. As a player, Gardner went to two Final Fours and was a part of three Southeastern Conference championships at Georgia.

COACHING QUICK HITS
South Carolina
Susan Walvius
Alma Mater Virginia Tech, 1986
USC Record 124-125/9th year
Overall Record 222-226/16th year

Arkansas
Susie Gardner
Alma Mater Georgia, 1986
Arkansas Record 46-32/3rd year
Overall Record 158-124/10th year

SHOWS WHAT THEY KNOW
Entering the season, Arkansas was not a team that was very highly-regarded in the preseason SEC media polls, as the Razorbacks were picked to finish 10th in the league. Arkansas bucked the press corps by getting off to a 4-1 start in league play.

OVERCOMING INJURY
Part of Arkansas’ success this year can be attributed to the team overcoming a season-ending injury to preseason first-team all-SEC selection Sarah Pfeifer. Pfeifer injured her left knee in preseason practice and has not played a game this season, but the Hogs have still managed to be very competitive.

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.
The Gamecocks endured a brutal schedule to open the conference slate, facing No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 LSU, No. 23 Vanderbilt and Kentucky in Lexington.

ARKANSAS FROM A DISTANCE
Though its most established player is out for the season with a knee injury, Arkansas is still finding success in SEC play, thanks in large part to solid shooting from three-point range and sound ballhandling. The Razorbacks rank among the SEC leaders in three-pointers made per game, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Hogs have forced their opposition to commit more turnovers than any other SEC team.

COMMON OPPONENTS; VANDY & BAMA
South Carolina and Arkansas have a pair of opponents in common in Vanderbilt and Alabama, with mixed results.
The Gamecocks lost a 67-59 decision to Vanderbilt, but the Razorbacks claimed a 52-51 win over the Commodores. Carolina defeated Alabama, 67-48, but Arkansas suffered a 75-73 setback at the hands of the Crimson Tide.

EVERYBODY HURTS SOMETIME
The Gamecocks had their league schedule loaded at the beginning with Tennessee, LSU, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Kentucky, while Arkansas is getting ready to embark on a six-game stretch in which it faces LSU twice, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Georgia.

A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ fifth win in the all-time series with Arkansas. To date, each of Carolina’s wins over the Razorbacks has come in Columbia.
>> Give the Gamecocks their first win over Arkansas since an 83-59 triumph in 2003.
>> Mark Carolina’s fourth win in its last five home games against the Hogs.

GEORGIA GAME SHOWS THERE’S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
South Carolina lost a 74-65 decision to No. 15 Georgia on Thursday, despite the fact that four Gamecocks scored in double figures. Prior to Thursday’s setback, Carolina was a perfect 4-0 when four players or more scored 10 points or more.
In another first, point guard Lea Fabbri led the Gamecocks with a career-high 15 points against the Lady Bulldogs Thursday, marking the first time in her career that she has led the team in scoring.
In addition, the Gamecocks lost despite a 10-point effort from Demetress Adams. Prior to Thursday’s game , Carolina was a perfect 7-0 this season when the freshman scored in double figures.
Lastly, Carolina and Georgia went into their respective locker rooms at halftime tied at 29, marking the first time this season that the Gamecocks were deadlocked with their opponent at the half.

TOP FIVE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING
5. In South Carolina’s 10 wins, the trio of Melanie Johnson, Demetress Adams and Iva Sliskovic combine to average 30.2 points per game and 19.2 rebounds per contest. In South Carolina’s eight losses, the trio combines to average 17.5 points and 15.4 rebounds per contest.

4. In Carolina’s 10 wins, the Gamecocks have limited the opposition to 27.0 percent shooting from the field. In Carolina’s eight losses, the Gamecocks have allowed the opposition to convert on 41.3 percent of its field goals.

3. In Carolina’s 10 wins, the Gamecocks are shooting 70.6 percent from the free throw line. In Carolina’s eight losses, the Gamecocks are shooting 57.5 percent from the charity stripe.

2. In Carolina’s 10 wins, the Gamecocks have scored 79.5 points per game. In Carolina’s eight losses, the Gamecocks have scored 56.2 points per game.

1. In Carolina’s 10 wins, the Gamecocks have outrebounded the opposition by an average margin of +16.3. In Carolina’s eight losses, the Gamecocks have outrebounded the opposition by an average margin of only +1.1.

THE BENCH MOB
Through South Carolina’s first 18 games, the Gamecock bench averages 35.2 points per game against 16.4 points per game from the opponent’s bench.
During South Carolina’s seven-game winning streak earlier this season, 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.

PLAYER TRENDS OF NOTE
>> Lea Fabbri has dished out either more or equal assists than she has committed turnovers in 11 of the last 13 games.
>> Lea Fabbri has drained six of her last 12 attempts from three-point range during the last three games against Vanderbilt, Alabama and Georgia.
>> Stacy Booker has drained at least one three-pointer in each of her last 13 games.
>> Stacy Booker’s three-point shooting percentage has gone up since the beginning of SEC play, as Booker has drained 37.8 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc since the conference portion of the schedule started. Prior to the start of conference play, Booker was shooting at a 32.8 percent clip from long distance.
>> Demetress Adams has converted on 57.1 percent of her field goal attempts against SEC opposition.

WHAT’S NEXT
After taking the midweek game off, Carolina is back in action when it travels to Starkville for a date with Mississipi State set to tip off at 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.