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Jan. 6, 2007

The Basics
South Carolina (10-5 overall) goes across the country to face No. 12 Stanford at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, Jan. 8 at Maples Pavilion. Monday’s game marks the first-ever meeting between the Gamecocks and Cardinal.

Carolina-Stanford Connection
Stanford assistant coach Karen Middleton remains to this day the most prolific three-point shooter in South Carolina women’s baskeetball history. Middleton, who scored 1,714 points in a career that spanned from 1987-91, sits atop South Carolina’s career three-pointers made and three-point field goal percentage lists and can be found among the career top-10 in points, defensive rebounds, assists, field goals made, field goals attempted, three-pointers attempted, free throw percentage, games played, games started, minutes played and minutes played per game. Middleton owns each of the top four single-season three-point field goal percentage records in South Carolina history.

Gamecocks vs. The Pac-10
South Carolina owns a 5-4 all-time series advantage over teams from the Pac-10, and has split its last four games against Pac-10 teams dating back to 1995.

Carolina On The West Coast
When Carolina travels to Palo Alto to face the Cardinal, it will mark only the second time in school history that the Gamecocks have faced a Pac-10 opponent on its home court. The only previous date with a Pac-10 team on its home turf was a 2004 date with Washington played in Seattle as part of the season-opening WBCA/BTI Classic. The Huskies claimed a 65-53 win in that contest. Carolina played a pair of games on consecutive nights at Hawaii in 1981, winning both contests by wide margins.

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). One of the best and most respected in the history of the sport, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer has led the Cardinal to more than 650 wins in a career highlighted by NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1992, a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games as Head Coach of the U.S. National Team, 14 Pac-10 titles, five trips to the NCAA Final Four and a 2002 induction into th e Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

A South Carolina Win Over Stanford Would…
:: Mark the Gamecocks’ sixth win in their last seven games, with the lone defeat coming at Kentucky last Thursday.
:: Improve the Gamecocks to 6-5 all-time against the Pac-10.
:: Mark the Gamecocks’ first win over a ranked opponent since Carolina pounded then-No. 14 Minnesota, 79-61 last season.
:: Mark the Gamecocks’ first road win over a ranked opponent since Carolina handed then-No. 17 Vanderbilt a 66-57 defeat in Nashville in 2003.
:: Mark the Gamecocks’ first road win over a non-conference ranked opponent since an 87-81 win at then-No. 9 Duke in 2001.

Stanford 0-2 vs. The SEC This Year
Stanford is no stranger to the SEC this year, as the Cardinal played back-to-back road games at Tennessee and Georgia in late November. The Cardinal dropped a 77-60 decision against he Lady Vols and were 74-69 losers against the Bulldogs.

Noting South Carolina’s Schedule
Stanford is one of a series of very good opponents on South Carolina’s schedule this year. The Gamecocks have already faced national championship hopeful Oklahoma this year in addition to a pair of non-conference road trips to Penn State and NC State. The Gamecocks also face such powers as Tennessee, LSU, Georgia and Vanderbilt once the SEC portion of the schedule hits stride.

Dickerson Has The Hot Hand Lately
Carolina sophomore Brionna Dickerson is South Carolina’s leading scorer in the span of the last five games, and the Gamecocks have reaped the benefits of her increased production, winning four of those five contests. Dickerson is averaging 11.0 points per game on 26-of-43 shooting from the field (.605 pct.) in the last five games. To put those numbers into perspective, Dickerson averaged 4.8 points per game on 16-of-41 shooting from the field (.390 pct.) in the Gamecocks’ first 10 games of the season.

Gamecocks In The Last Five Games
:: Brionna Dickerson (11.0 ppg) and Lauren Simms (10.2 ppg) are Carolina’s top two scorers.
:: A different player has led the Gamecocks in scoring in each game.
:: Iva Sliskovic (6.0 rpg) and Ilona Burgrova (5.8 rpg) are Carolina’s top two rebounders.
:: The Gamecocks are shooting .488 pct. from the field and have limited the opposition to .321 shooting from the field.
:: Carolina has outrebounded the opposition by an average margin of 14.8 boards per game. Included in that figure is a +10 rebounding advantage that the Gamecocks had over Kentucky, who is the SEC’s second-ranked squad in terms of rebounding margin.
:: The Gamecocks have forced the opposition into committing 22.2 turnovers per game.
:: The Gamecocks average 11.4 steals per game.