Feb. 24, 2006
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THE BASICS
The South Carolina women’s basketball team (17-9 overall; 7-6 Southeastern Conference) puts a cap on the regular season when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., for a battle with No. 24/23 Vanderbilt set to tip off at 3 p.m. Eastern time Sunday at Memorial Gym.
ON THE AIR
The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Radio 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.
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.
GAMECOCKS ARE SEC’S HOTTEST TEAM
South Carolina owns the longest current winning streak in the SEC, claiming victories in five straight heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale at Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks have won seven of their last eight games have been victorious in each of their last four SEC road games, marking the first time since the Gamecocks joined the league for the 1991-92 season that they have accomplished that feat.
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. In her fourth year in Nashville, Melanie Balcomb led Vanderbilt to back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 in 2004 and 2005. Balcomb held her first head coaching job at Ashland from 1993-95 before moving on to Xavier from 1995-2002. She took the Vanderbilt job in 2002 and guided the Commodores to the SEC Tournament championship in 2004.
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 a bright spot, ranking among the team leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals. Playing very well of late, Carolina has won five straight games and seven of its last eight, including victories in its last four SEC road games, marking the first time since the Gamecocks joined the league that Carolina has accomplished that feat. 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 nine losses eight have come at the hands of teams that have been ranked in the top 25 this year.
VANDERBILT FROM A DISTANCE
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team improved to 18-9 (7-6 SEC) with a 72-55 win over Kentucky Thursday in Nashville. It was Vanderbilt’s 10th straight win in the series and the Commodores’ 11th consecutive win over UK at Memorial Gymnasium. Five Commodores scored in double figures for the first time since the Clemson game (Nov. 12, 2005). Junior Carla Thomas led the Commodores with 17 points, moving past former VU great Jillian Danker into 19th place on the Commodores’ all-time scoring list. Defensively, Vanderbilt forced 27 turnovers by the Wildcats, which tied the season high set by Alabama A&M on Nov. 22, 2005, in a 80-29 VU victory. Freshman Jenn Risper came up with a game-high four steals to spark the Vanderbilt defense.
LAST MEETING (JAN. 15, 2006 IN COLUMBIA, S.C.)
The University of South Carolina women’s basketball team dropped a 67-59 decision to No. 23 Vanderbilt in a Southeastern Conference game on Jan. 15 at the Colonial Center. For South Carolina, Ilona Burgrova scored in double-figures for the third time this season, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. She also grabbed six rebounds. Lauren Simms was the only other Gamecock in double figures, finishing with 10 points, the sixth time in the last eight games she has reached double-digits. Melanie Johnson chipped in with nine points and Stacy Booker had eight. Iva Sliskovic led the Gamecocks with a game-high nine rebounds to go with three blocks. Vanderbilt held the lead from the opening minutes of the game and pushed its advantage to as many as 11 (28-17) in the first half on a basket by Liz Sherwood, the nation’s field goal percentage leader (.697), with 3:47 to play. Melanie Johnson responded for Carolina by scoring six straight points to cut into the gap. The Commodores headed to the locker room with a 32-25 advantage at the half. Vanderbilt out-scored Carolina in the paint, 18-10, and collected 12 second-chance points to just two for USC. Dee Davis led Vandy with 10 points. Johnson scored eight to lead South Carolina. The Gamecocks continued to whittle away at the Commodores’ lead early in the second half behind strong play from their inside players. USC tied the game at 42 on a putback by Sliskovic with 11:52 remaining. From there, Carla Thomas and Christina Wirth stepped up for Vanderbilt. Thomas scored nine points down the stretch and Wirth hit a pair of key three-pointers. Vandy extended its lead back to double-digits and then hit free throws in the waning minutes to seal the win.
A CAROLINA WIN OVER VANDERBILT WOULD:
>> Mark Carolina’s sixth consecutive win and its eighth victory in its last nine games.
>> Guarantee the Gamecocks the fifth seed at the SEC Tournament.
>> Give South Carolina 10 more wins than it had all last year, which would mark the largest improvement of any team in the six power conferences from a year ago (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East).
>> All but assure the Gamecocks of an NCAA Tournament bid, as Carolina would finish the regular season with an 18-9 overall record and an 8-6 record in SEC play, and would likely finish in sole possession of fifth place in the SEC standings (assuming Tennessee beats Florida in Knoxville Sunday.)
>> Mark the Gameococks’ second win in their last three trips to Vanderbilt, as Carolina handed the Commodores a 66-57 defeat in 2003 before losing to Vandy in Nashville last year. >> Mark South Carolina’s first road win over a ranked opponent since the Gamecocks knocked off then-No. 17 Vanderbilt, 66-57 on Jan. 16, 2003.
SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS FOR CAROLINA
South Carolina can enter the SEC Tournament as either the fifth seed, the sixth seed or the seventh seed. Entering Sunday’s action, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Florida are tied for fifth in the SEC standings, as the three teams have identical 7-6 conference records.
South Carolina would be the fifth seed if:
If South Carolina beats Vanderbilt and Florida beats Tennessee, then the Gamecocks and the Gators will be tied at 8-6, with Carolina winning the tie-break by virtue of its 81-63 win over Florida on Feb. 12. With a 7-7 league record, Vanderbilt would be the seventh seed. -OR- If South Carolina beats Vanderbilt and Florida loses to Tennessee, then South Carolina would be the fifth seed with an 8-6 record, with Florida and Vandy tied at 7-7. The Gators hold the tie-breaker for the sixth seed over Vanderbilt by virtue of their win over Vandy on Jan. 22.
South Carolina would be the sixth seed if:
If Vanderbilt beats South Carolina and Tennessee beats Florida, then Vanderbilt would be the fifth seed at 8-6, with South Carolina and Florida tied at 7-7. The Gamecocks would win the tie-breaker to be the sixth seed over Florida by virtue of their 81-63 win over the Gators on Feb. 12.
South Carolina would be the seventh seed if:
If Vanderbilt beats South Carolina and Florida beats Tennessee, then Florida and Vandy would be tied at 8-6. The Gators hold the tie-breaker for the fifth seed over Vanderbilt by virtue of the Gators’ win over Vandy on Jan. 22. At 7-7, Carolina would be the seventh seed.
WHO’S GOT THE HOT HAND LATELY?
>> Redshirt sophomore Lakesha Tolliver set a career high with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field last Sunday vs. Ole Miss, then came back to pass that mark with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field vs. Longwood Tuesday. When her 11-point effort on 4-of-6 shooting from the field in Carolina’s win over Mississippi State Thursday is included, Tolliver has averaged 15.3 points per game on 18-of-23 shooting from the field (.783 pct.) in the last three games.
>> Junior Melanie Johnson enjoyed a career day in lifting the Gamecocks to an 81-63 win over Florida in Gainesville on Feb. 12. The Barnwell, S.C., native scored an all-time high 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the Gamecocks over the Gators. Johnson posted another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds in Carolina’s win over Ole Miss last Sunday. During the last five games (all of which have resulted in Carolina wins), Johnson averages 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
>> Freshman Demetress Adams scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds vs. Longwood Tuesday. She added 10 points in Carolina’s win over Mississippi State and has now scored in double-figures 12 times this season and four times in the last six games. In the 12 games in which Adams has scored in double-figures, the Gamecocks have compiled a 10-2 record.
>> As a group, Carolina’s post players have been very steady of late, as the combination of Tolliver, Johnson, Adams and Iva Sliskovic have combined to average 43.4 points and 20.8 rebounds per game and have converted on 87-of-146 field goal attempts (.596 pct.) during the last five games. Those four players have been Carolina’s four leading scorers during that span.
IN BOX WE TRUST
There was a new addition to the Carolina bench in the Gamecocks’ win over Florida in Gainesville on Feb. 12, as a large cardboard box adorned the bench and accompanied Carolina on the court during the announcement of the starting lineups. The box was found and brought in by assistant coach Tammy Holder as a reminder to the team of the importance of boxing out. Carolina was outrebounded by smaller Mississippi State and Kentucky teams before the box’s arrival, but came back to out-rebound Florida by a 43-33 margin last game with the box on the bench. The box accompanied the team to Auburn, and sure enough, the Gamecocks claimed a win over the Tigers and outrebounded Auburn, 39-38 despite the fact that the Tigers held a height and size advantage.
ADAMS AN ALL-FRESHMAN CANDIDATE
It doesn’t take most observers very long to recognize that freshmen Demetress Adams is usually one of the most talented players on the court. Adams started the season averaging 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game through her first 10 games. In the 11th game of the year, Adams injured her hand and was forced to wear a bulky and cumbersome bandage on her shooting hand for the next five games. Since getting the bandage off, Adams is back to her early-season form, highlighted by back-to-back 18-point performances over Kentucky and Florida and a 15-point, seven-rebound effort against Longwood.
DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING ARE KEYS
Most coaches will tell you that defense and rebounding win games, and an examination of Carolina’s stats certainly illustrates that point. In the Gamecocks’ 17 wins, they have limited the opposition to 47.4 points per game on 29.0 percent shooting from the field and hold a +12.9 rebounding margin. In the Gamecocks’ nine losses, the opposition averages 69.0 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting from the field, with Carolina’s rebounding margin dipping to -0.1.
THE BENCH MOB
Through South Carolina’s first 26 games, the Gamecock bench averages 35.0 points per game against 16.8 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.
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 averages more than 10.2 points per game this season, but five different players average between 7.5 points and 10.2 points per game. A total of eight different players have led the Gamecocks in scoring in a game this year.
CAROLINA GETTING DEFENSIVE
Through South Carolina’s first 26 games, only Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU, Georgia and Florida have shot 40 percent or better from the field. The Gamecocks have limited 11 different opponents to either 30 percent shooting from the field or lower this year and have held 17 of their last 21 opponents below their season field goal percentage entering the game.
THE SWAT TEAM SETS A NEW RECORD
Carolina’s height was a contributing factor to the Gamecocks shattering the single-season school record for blocked shots in 2004-05. Carolina swatted 176 shots on the season (6.1 per game), shattering the previous record of 115 blocks set in 2001-02. That number has held true in 2005-06 as well, as Carolina has surpassed the record it set last year, as the Gamecocks have blocked a whopping 178 shots in 26 games this year (6.8 per game).
WHAT’S NEXT
South Carolina competes at the 2006 SEC Tournament from March 2-5. The tournament will be played at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Ark. All of Carolina’s games will be televised live by Fox Sports South, with the championship game televised live by ESPN2. The games will also be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.
