Dec. 27, 2006

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The Basics
South Carolina (7-4 overall) hosts Samford (6-5 overall) at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Colonial Center. The game is the back end of a South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader, as the Gamecock men host UNC Asheville at 6 p.m.

Sliskovic Is SEC Player of the Week
South Carolina senior forward Iva Sliskovic was recognized as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for her efforts against High Point and South Carolina State last week. Sliskovic turned in the most impressive performance of her career when she posted a triple-double in the Gamecocks’ 87-49 win over High Point on Dec. 20, scoring 18 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. She came back to score 15 points, grab seven rebounds, dish out two assists and make four steals in only 22 minutes of action in Carolina’s 85-42 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 23. Sliskovic averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists for the week and converted on 14-of-19 field goal attempts (.737 pct.) In receiving the honor, Sliskovic became the second Gamecock this year to be recognized as SEC Player of the Week, as teammate Melanie Johnson earned the award the first week of the season. For the year, Sliskovic leads the team with 11.5 points per game, adding 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest as well. She is on pace to become only the sixth player in SEC history to finish her career with 1,000 points, 650 rebounds, 150 assists and 125 blocked shots.

Simms’ Numbers Are Up After Move To The Point
Senior guard Lauren Simms, primarily known as a shooting guard during the first three years of her career, was recently moved to point guard prior to Carolina’s game against High Point, and the move has been a success, as Simms is averaging 13.0 points 5.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game since taking over at the point. Simms registered her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists against South Carolina State on Dec. 23 and has converted on .524 pct. of her field goal attempts since moving to the point, a figure that is a significant improvement from the .304 pct. she was shooting from the field prior to the move.

Series History
Saturday’s game marks the first meeting on the hardwood between the Gamecocks and Bulldogs. Samford is the first Ohio Valley Conference school that South Carolina has faced since the Gamecocks handed Austin Peay a 90-51 beating in 1993. Through the years, South Carolina is 6-2 all-time against the Ohio Valley Conference.

Colonial Center A Graveyard For Unranked Foes
South Carolina has turned the Colonial Center into a very difficult place for unranked opponents to win of late, as the Gamecocks own an 20-3 record in their last 23 games played at the Colonial Center against unranked opposition, dating back to a 66-57 win over Alabama on Feb. 20, 2005.

Gamecocks Lead The SEC In Rebounding Margin
As of Dec. 25, South Carolina leads the SEC in rebounding margin, grabbing 11.5 more rebounds per game than the opposition. In addition, the Gamecocks rank among the top three teams in the conference in scoring defense (T2nd; 55.0 opponent points per game), scoring margin (3rd; +19.4), field goal percentage defense (3rd; .344 pct.), rebounding offense (2nd; 47.5 rebounds per game), blocked shots (3rd; 5.45 blocks per game), assists (2nd; 17.36 assists per game); steals (2nd; 14.36 steals per game), turnover margin (3rd; +7.45), assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd; 1.02) and offensive rebounds (2nd; 20.64 offensive rebounds per game).