Dec. 29, 2010

Game Notes in PDF Format

Game Information

Date: Thursday, December 30, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena
S.C. State Series: SC leads 21-9; In Columbia: SC leads 15-2; In Orangeburg: SC leads 4-3
Tickets: $7 general admission
Live Stats:
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller and Mary Girton); GamecocksOnline.com

South Carolina Notables

• This is the Gamecocks’ 36th season as a varsity sport.
• South Carolina has shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in three of its last six games, including a season-high 52.1 percent against Presbyterian.
• Three Gamecocks are among the SEC’s top 30 scorers this season – Ieasia Walker (12.2 ppg), Marah Strickland (10.8 ppg) and La’Keisha Sutton (9.8).
• South Carolina has used four different starting lineups this season with eight players getting at least one start. The Gamecocks have used the same lineup for the last four games.
• Junior guard Marah Strickland has hit 36.5 (19-52) percent from 3-point range over the last seven games, including 32.3 percent (10-31) over the last five home games.
• Junior guard La’Keisha Sutton has handed out 5.0 assists and swiped 3.2 steals per game over the last six games.

Notes

A South Carolina Win Would…

• Be its eighth-straight at home, the longest the Gamecocks have gone without dropping a home game since opening the 2002-03 season with a 10-game home win streak.
• Be the Gamecocks’ eighth non-conference win of the season, matching that of the 2008-09 team, head coach Dawn Staley’s first at the helm.

By the Numbers
1 – Gamecock that has a higher scoring average away from Colonial Life Arena (12.0) than on her home court (10.1) – Marah Strickland.
2 – Gamecocks who have started every game this season – Jewel May and La’Keisha Sutton.
4 – Gamecocks who have pulled down more offensive rebounds than defensive boards – Ashley Bruner (42-30), Courtney Newton (3-2), Charenee Stephens (31-29) and Ebony Wilson (10-9).
5 – Different players who have led the team in scoring this season – Ieasia Walker (5), Marah Strickland (3), La’Keisha Sutton (2), Charenee Stephens (1) and Ashley Bruner (1).
5:01 – Total time South Carolina has trailed this season after taking a lead into halftime (UC Davis). The Gamecocks are 7-1 when leading at the half.
11 – The largest deficit the Gamecocks have overcome to win this season (Illinois).
15 – The largest halftime lead the Gamecocks have held this season (Charleston Southern and NC State).
38.2 – Points per game difference in scoring margin for the Gamecocks from home games to away/neutral games (+13.0 at home/-25.2 on the road).
.303 – Difference in the Gamecocks’ season-best field goal percentage (.521 vs. Presbyteran) and their season low (.218 at Stanford).

The South Carolina State Series
The Gamecocks lead the series 21-9 and have won the last 17 meetings between the two teams. South Carolina and South Carolina State last met on Dec. 23, 2006, when the Gamecocks turned in an 85-42 victory on their home court. The last South Carolina State win was an 85-74 decision over the fifth-ranked Gamecocks in Orangeburg on Feb. 21, 1980. South Carolina is 15-2 against the Lady Bulldogs in Columbia.

Deciding December
The Gamecocks are 145-76 (.656) all-time in the month of December, including an 86-22 (.797) record at home. Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 13-6 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 5-1.

Home Sweet Home
South Carolina has won 69.5 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 330-145 mark includes an 86-49 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 6-1 at home this season.

Perfect Pair
Juniors Charenee Stephens and La’Keisha Sutton turned in the sixth and seventh perfect shooting games (minimum five field goal attempts) in Colonial Life Arena history. Stephens turned in a 6-of-6 outing against Butler (Dec. 21), and Sutton matched the effort shot-for-shot against Presbyterian (Dec. 28). The results were the first Gamecock entries in that category of the record book since Lea Fabbri went 5-of-5 against Arkansas on Jan. 29, 2006. The duo are the first teammates to achieve the feat in the same season.