Dec. 20, 2010
Game Information
Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena
Butler Series: First Meeting
Live Stats:
Tickets: $7 general admission
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller)
South Carolina Notables
- This is the Gamecocks’ 36th season as a varsity sport.
- Three Gamecocks are among the SEC’s top 30 scorers this season – Ieasia Walker (11.4 ppg), Marah Strickland (10.8 ppg) and La’Keisha Sutton (10.0 ppg).
- South Carolina has used four different starting lineups this season, including three in the last five games, with eight players getting at least one start.
- The Gamecocks are averaging 21.4 points more at home than on the road.
- Junior guard Marah Strickland has hit 38.6 percent from 3-point range over the last five games, including 34.8 percent over the last three home games.
- Junior guard La’Keisha Sutton has handed out 5.0 assists and swiped 3.5 steals per game over the last four games.
- Senior guard Valerie Nainima made her season debut against NC State, just 4-1/2 months after ACL surgery on her right knee.
Notes
A South Carolina Win Would…
- Be its sixth-straight home victory, the longest the Gamecocks have gone without dropping a home game since a six-game stretch in the 2007-08 season.
- Keep the Gamecocks undefeated against teams from the Horizon League.
By the Numbers
- 2 Gamecocks have started every game this season – Jewel May and La’Keisha Sutton.
- 3 Gamecocks have pulled in more offensive rebounds than defensive boards – Ashley Bruner (37-25), Charenee Stephens (28-26) and Ebony Wilson (10-9).
- 5 different players have led the team in scoring this season.
- 5:01 is the total amount of time the Gamecocks have trailed this season after taking a lead into halftime (UC Davis). South Carolina is 5-1 when leading at the half.
- 11 points is the largest deficit the Gamecocks have overcome to win this season (Illinois).
- 15 points is the largest halftime lead the Gamecocks have held this season (Charleston Southern and NC State).
- 35.7 points per game is the difference in scoring margin for the Gamecocks from home games to away/neutral games (+10.5 at home/-25.2 on the road).
- .300 is difference in the Gamecocks’ season-best field goal percentage (.518 vs. NC State) and their season low (.218 at Stanford).
The Butler Series
The two teams have never met, and the two head coaches have never faced each other.
Deciding December
The Gamecocks are 143-76 (.653) all-time in the month of December, including an 84-22 (.792) record at home. Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 11-6 in the last month of the year. The Gamecocks went 4-3 in Staley’s first year at the helm (2008-09) and were 4-2 last season. So far this December, South Carolina is 3-1.
Home Sweet Home
South Carolina has won 69.3 percent of its home games since the 1976-77 season (records did not include the site of games for the first two seasons of women’s basketball). That 328-145 mark includes an 84-49 mark in Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks turned in their most productive home season in 2001-02, winning 17 of their 18 contests in their final season playing at Carolina Coliseum. The team’s best home record at Colonial Life Arena came in 2006-07 when South Carolina went 15-5. South Carolina is currently 5-1 at home this season.
Be Aggressive, B-E Aggressive
Since head coach Dawn Staley took the reins prior to the 2008-09 season, the Gamecocks have been most successful when they are aggressive on the offensive end. That trend is even more pronounced this season. Under Staley, South Carolina is 23-18 when it attempts more free throws that 3-poiners, including a 4-2 mark this season. In the last three seasons, the Gamecocks are 18-12 when attempting more free throws than their opponent, including a 4-2 mark this season.
Stop, Thief!
South Carolina is averaging 9.2 steals per game this season, which is as high an average as the team has amassed since finishing the 2006-07 campaign with 11.9 per game. The Gamecocks have swiped 10 steals four times this season (Clemson, at No. 3/2 Stanford, Savannah State and NC State) and have recorded fewer than eight in a game just twice (at UC Davis, Charleston Southern).
