Feb. 7, 2006
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THE BASICS
The South Carolina women’s basketball team (12-8; 3-5 SEC) hosts Kentucky (15-6; 4-4 SEC) at 7 p.m. Thursday 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.
GAMEDAY PROMOTION
Youth Basketball night; wear your team jersey and get into the game for only $2.
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.
COACHING QUICK HITS
South Carolina
Susan Walvius
Alma Mater Virginia Tech, 1986
USC Record 126-125/9th year
Overall Record 224-226/16th year
Kentucky
Mickie DeMoss
Alma Mater Louisiana Tech, 1977
Kentucky Record 44-39/3rd year
Overall Record 89-107/7th year
SOUTH 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. Of Carolina’s eight losses this season, six came at the hands of ranked opponents, with a seventh loss coming to a very good Kentucky team in Lexington.
KENTUCKY FROM A DISTANCE
Entering Thursday’s game with a 15-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark in SEC play, Kentucky picked up a benchmark win when it knocked off Tennessee, 66-63 at Rupp Arena on Jan. 26. The Wildcats have taken a slight dip since that big win, however, dropping a 91-57 decision at Georgia immediately following the Tennessee game and suffering a 68-61 setback at the hands of Florida in Lexington last Sunday. Kentucky has the elements that most very good teams have, namely, they have a solid post presence in Sarah Elliott (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg), good shooters in Carly Ormerod (9.8 ppg on 45.5 percent shooting from three-point range) and Jenny Pfeiffer (team-best 11.4 ppg on 39.6 shooting from beyond the arc) and a good wing player in Samantha Mahoney (11.3 ppg).
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Lexington, Ky. (Jan. 8, 2006) – Carolina suffered a 72-60 loss to Kentucky in front of 4,234 fans at Memorial Coliseum. Lauren Simms led the way for Carolina with 14 points and a season-high seven rebounds. Iva Sliskovic added 10 points and six rebounds, with Stacy Booker contributing 10 points to the Gamecock effort. Kentucky was led by Samantha Mahoney and Carly Ormerod. Mahoney scored 20 points, with Ormerod finishing with 18 points. Kentucky raced out to a 22-8 lead after Jenny Pfeiffer converted a four-point play at the 11:12 mark and Ormerod followed that up with her second trey of the first half. Three-pointers were the name of the game for Kentucky early on, as five of the Wildcats’ first eight field goals came from beyond the arc. After getting off to the fast start, Kentucky led by double-digits for the majority of the contest, but Carolina trimmed the Wildcat lead to 66-58 with just over two minutes remaining in the contest. Kentucky regrouped, however, and held off the late Gamecock charge to seal the win.
A CAROLINA WIN WOULD:
>> Mark Carolina’s fourth win in its last five SEC games after getting off to a 1-5 start in conference play, with the losses coming at the hands of powerhouse teams like Tennessee, LSU, Georgia and Vanderbilt, as well as a defeat at the hands of a tough Kentucky team in Lexington.
>> Mark the first time the Gamecocks have won three consecutive SEC games since Carolina won five consecutive conference games at the end of the 2002-03 season.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ sixth win in their last seven games played against Kentucky in Columbia.
>> Improve Carolina’s record to 11-5 in the all-time series against Kentucky in games played in Columbia.
STAKES ARE GETTING HIGHER
South Carolina’s next four games will likely determine whether or not the Gamecocks will go to the NCAA Tournament or not. Carolina owns a 12-8 overall record and a 3-5 mark in SEC play. Carolina’s next two opponents, Kentucky and Florida both rank among the top 30 teams nationally in terms of RPI, and wins over these two opponents would be significant resume-builders for the Gamecocks leading up to tournament time. A win over Kentucky would bring the Gamecocks into a tie with the Wildcats for seventh place in the SEC standings. With the conference ranking second nationally in terms of RPI, it is not unrealistic to think that six or possibly seven teams could go to the tournament.
GAMECOCKS ARE THE FABULOUS NO-NAMES
Among the consistent themes of the 2005-06 season has been the fact that no Carolina player has emerged as a star, but as Susan Walvius has said numerous times, “The strength of our team is our team.” Her thoughts are backed up by the fact that no Gamecock has a double-figure scoring average this season, but five different players average between 7.7 points and 9.5 points per game. In addition, a total of 11 different players average more than 10 minutes played per game. A total of eight different players have led the Gamecocks in scoring in a game this year. Among SEC teams, only Mississippi State has had more players lead the team in scoring in a game this year, with nine.
CAROLINA GETTING DEFENSIVE
Through South Carolina’s first 20 games, only Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU and Georgia have shot 40 percent or better from the field. The Gamecocks have limited 10 different opponents to either 30 percent shooting from the field or lower this year and have held 12 of their last 15 opponents below their season field goal percentage entering the game.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER TRENDS OF NOTE
>> Lea Fabbri has drained six of her last 14 attempts from three-point range during the last five games. >> Demetress Adams has converted on 22 of her 36 field goal attempts against SEC opposition (61.1 percent). >> Lakesha Tolliver has converted on 61.9 percent of her field goal attempts on the road. >> After going through a bit of a slump following an injury to her hand that led to her being forced to wear a bulky and cumbersome bandage on her shooting hand, Demetress Adams is averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the last four games. During that same span, Adams has converted on 15 of her 21 field goal attempts (71.4 percent).
WHAT’S NEXT
South Carolina returns to action when it travels to Gainesville for a Thursday date with Florida at the O’Connell Center. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.
