Nov. 28, 2006

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The Basics
South Carolina (4-2 overall) travels to Raleigh, N.C., for a 7 p.m. date with North Carolina State (4-2 overall) Wednesday at Reynolds Coliseum.

Ticket Information
Contact the NC State ticket office at 919-865-1510.

On The Air
The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Radio in Columbia, with Brad Heller handling play-by-play duties and Robin Muller providing analysis. For fans outside of the Columbia area, the game can be accessed worldwide via the internet at uscsports.com.

About The Coaches
South Carolina Head Coach Susan Walvius is in her 10th year at the helm of the Gamecock women’s basketball program. The 2002 SEC Coach of the Year, Walvius led the Gamecocks to the Elite Eight in 2002 and has guided Carolina to the postseason in three of the last five seasons. She has attracted top-15 recruiting classes to Carolina in 2003 (10th) and in 2005 (13th).

Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow is in the midst of a leave of absence from her coaching duties for an indefinite period of time after her doctors recently detected progression of breast cancer. Associate head coach Stephanie Glance is serving as interim coach. Yow is in her 32nd season as head coach of the Wolfpack women and has posted 696 wins during her storied career – the sixth-most in the history of NCAA women’s basketball. She was the coach of the women’s gold medal team at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul Korea, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 with a group including Larry Brown and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. For her many contributions as an educator and coach, she was acknowledged as the “Person of the Year” for the state of North Carolina by the Raleigh News & Observer in 2002.

Glance is in her 13th year on the NC State coaching staff. She is the recruiting coordinator as well as handling other coaching duties. She is also responsible for perimeter player development and assists in monitoring the players’ academic progress.

Series History
Wednesday’s meeting between South Carolina and NC State marks the 25th meeting between the two schools. The Wolfpack owns a 16-8 advantage all-time and has won 10 of the last 12 contests, including each of the last three.

NC State owns a 6-3 advantage over South Carolina in games played in Raleigh, with the Gamecocks’ last road win over the Wolfpack a 67-62 victory in 1989.

Game Storylines
Wednesday’s game will be a key contest for both teams, as NC State is in search of its first win over a team from one of the power conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10) and South Carolina looks to add a quality road victory to its NCAA Tournament résumé.

The Wolfpack’s two losses this season have come at the hands of Purdue and Arizona, as the Boilermakers handed NC State a 68-38 pounding on Nov. 15, with Arizona edging past the Wolfpack with a 68-66 overtime win on Nov. 24.

Through the first six games of the season, South Carolina is at its best when it is pressuring and harassing the opposition into turnovers that lead to easy buckets in transition. The Gamecocks have forced five of their six opponents into committing more than 20 turnovers and hold a +6.8 turnover margin. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, have shown a tendency toward turning the ball over, averaging 17.0 turnovers per contest.

Carolina prides itself on its defense, limiting the opposition to .334 shooting from the field. NC State has not shot the ball at a high percentage this year, converting at a .354 clip from the field and scoring more than 66 points only once.

Who’s Got The Hot Hand Lately
Senior Iva Sliskovic has scored in double figures in four of Carolina’s first six games this year and has converted on 11-of-18 field goal attempts (.612 pct) in the last three games.

Sophomore Demetress Adams has grabbed 31 rebounds in her last three games, collecting 11 rebounds against Clemson and 10 boards against both Mercer and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Senior Lauren Simms has scored in double figures in each of Carolina’s last two games, going for 12 points and six rebounds against Mercer and 11 points and a career-high eight rebounds against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Senior Lea Fabbri has dished out 20 assists with only seven turnovers in the last four games.

Gamecock Trends
* Dating back to last year, South Carolina is 12-2 when Demetress Adams scores 10 or more points.
* Dating back to last year, South Carolina is 14-2 when dishing out 16 or more assists in a game.
* Dating back to the 2003-04 season, South Carolina is 19-6 when a Gamecock player posts a double-double.
* Dating back to last season, South Carolina is 18-5 when winning the points-off-turnovers battle.
* The South Carolina bench has outscored that of the opposition by a 238-82 margin this year.
* South Carolina has limited four of its first five opponents to less than 20 field goals made.
* South Carolina has outrebounded its first six opponents by an average of 14.8 boards per game.
* South Carolina has forced its first six opponents into committing 25.2 turnovers per game. The Gamecocks boast a +6.8 turnover margin this year.
* A different player has led the Gamecocks in scoring in five of Carolina’s first six games this year.

A South Carolina Win Over NC State Would…
>> Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 95-44 in regular-season games played against non-conference opposition.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ second win in as many tries over Atlantic Coast Conference opposition this season, as Carolina handed in-state rival Clemson an 80-48 beating on Nov. 20.
>> Move the Gamecocks to 73-67 all-time against teams from the ACC.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ third straight win over an ACC team, as Carolina beat Clemson in each of the last two seasons.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ fifth win in their last 11 games against ACC opposition, dating back to a 72-58 win over Clemson in 2002.
>> Snap the Gamecocks’ modest three-game losing streak to NC State.
>> Mark the Gamecocks’ highest-quality win of the season to date, as NC State is ranked 46th in the current CollegeRPI.com power rankings and is 55th in Jeff Sagarin’s power rankings.

Gamecocks Lead The SEC In Four Categories
As of November 28, South Carolina leads the SEC in steals (15.00 per game), offensive rebounds (22.17 per game), rebounding margin (+14.8) and rebounding offense (49.7 per game).

In addition, senior guard Lauren Simms leads the SEC in free throw percentage, draining 13 of her 14 attempts (.929 pct.)

The NCAA has not yet released its national rankings summary.

Bench Press
Though bench production is not measured in any conference or national rankings, South Carolina’s non-starters certainly rank as a formidable unit. Through the first six games of the year, the Gamecock bench has outscored that of the opposition by a 238-82 margin, which averages out to 39.7-to-13.7.

Only Penn State’s reserves have outscored South Carolina’s, as the Lady Lion bench held a 27-22 advantage over the the Gamecock bench. If that game is excluded, the Carolina bench owns a 216-55 advantage over that of the opposition, which averages out to 43.2-to-11.0.