Nov. 19, 2011

Complete Game Notes

Game Information

Date: November 20, 2011
Time:3 p.m.
Location:Columbia, S.C.
Arena:Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Tickets: $7 adult, $4 youth (17 & under)
TV: SportSouth (Andy Demetra, Debbie Antonelli); ESPN3
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Penn State Series: PSU leads 5-4; In Columbia: SC leads 2-1; In University Park: PSU leads 4-2; At Neutral Site: Never met

South Carolina Notables

• Senior La’Keisha Sutton ranks among the SEC’s top 10 in assists (10th, 4.5 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (9th, 1.9) after her six-assist, two-turnover outing at Clemson (Nov. 17).
• The Gamecocks have a +7.7 turnover margin this season, the third-best in the SEC. South Carolina has improved over last season on both ends of that formula, turning the ball over just 13.0 times per game (15.5 last season) while causing 20.7 per game (16.6 last season).

Notes

A South Carolina Win Would…

• Even the Penn State series 5-5 and be the Gamecocks’ second over the Lady Lions in three tries.
• Make the Gamecocks 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2002-03 when they opened with an 8-0 run and finished the season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Dawn Staley’s best season-opening undefeated streak is 6-0, which her Temple team accomplished in 2005-06.
• Be its sixth over a nationally-ranked team in the Dawn Staley era.
• Put the Gamecocks five wins away from 100 in Colonial Life Arena.

By the Numbers
.158 South Carolina’s opponents’ combined 3-point field goal percentage this season, the second-lowest 3-point field goal percentage defense in the SEC
.652 Gamecocks’ second-half field goal percentage at Illinois, their highest in a half since knocking down the same percentage (both 15-of-23) in the second half against High Point on Dec. 2, 2009
4 Games in which Charenee Stephens has led the team in scoring in her career – all South Carolina victories
5:23 Total time the Gamecocks have trailed an opponent through the first three games of the season
6 Assists handed out by La’Keisha Sutton at Clemson (Nov. 17), her 21st career game with five or more assists
7 Steals by La’Keisha Sutton at Clemson (Nov. 17), making her the first Gamecock with that many swipes since Samone Kennedy picked up seven against High Point on Dec. 2, 2009
46.9 Percent of points scored by the bench this season (92 of 196)
48.5 Percent of the team’s points that have come from the six forwards on the roster, led by Ashley Bruner’s 11.7 ppg

Penn State Series Notes
The Gamecocks and Lady Lions have met nine times before today with Penn State holding a 5-4 edge in the series following last season’s 78-48 victory in University Park, Pa. South Carolina holds a 2-1 advantage in games played in Columbia, including the most recent meeting, a 63-56 win on Nov. 22, 2009.

Rating the Ranked
South Carolina is 50-188 against nationally ranked teams in its 38th season of women’s basketball. The Gamecocks have collected 28 of those 50 wins in Columbia, including 10 in Colonial Life Arena. Additionally, 28 of the 50 victories came against teams ranked in the top 15, as Penn State is this week. The last top-15 opponent South Carolina defeated was then-No. 15 Kentucky, 66-61, on Feb. 10, 2011, in Columbia. The highest ranked team the Gamecocks have defeated in the Dawn Staley era was then-No. 14 Georgia on Feb. 25, 2010, when South Carolina left Athens with a 52-42 victory. In its basketball history, South Carolina’s highest-ranked victim was then-No. 3 Auburn, who the Gamecocks defeated 83-76 in Columbia on Dec. 29, 1990.

Home Sweet Home
South Carolina has won 69.4 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 338-149 mark includes a 94-52 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. Last season, South Carolina was 14-5 at home, the fourth-most home wins in school history. So far this season, the Gamecocks are 1-0 at Colonial Life Arena.

Triple Play
Coming into the season, may observers felt the fate of the Gamecocks’ season rested largely in the hands of its experienced backcourt – seniors Markeshia Grant and La’Keisha Sutton and junior Ieasia Walker. Through the first three games, that has certainly been the case as between their points and assists, the trio has contributed to 63.8 percent of the team’s 65.3 points per game. The trio’s camaraderie on and off the floor has bred friendly competition specifically between the two seniors, designed to ultimately guide the team to its goals. After Sutton led the team with 3.6 assists per game last season, Grant has set her sights on unseating her classmate in the assist department. After the two each handed out three assists in the season opener, Grant surged ahead with a career-high six against Alabama A&M. Sutton answered with six at Clemson to take an early 13-11 lead in the competition.

Not So Fast
While the backcourt gets all the attention, a member of the Gamecock frontcourt has led the team in scoring in each of the first three games of the season.Highlighting that group’s effort is junior Ashley Bruner whose team-high 11.7 points per game include a pair of double-digit outings to start the season. Particularly when it comes to the assist battle in the backcout, South Carolina’s forwards will be counted on to deliver the basket at the end of those passes. That ability was especially on display in the second half against Alabama A&M when Bruner and freshman Aleighsa Welch netted 15 of the team’s 30 points. The duo finished the night with 27 of the Gamecocks’ 60 points and handed out three assists of their own. Bruner also matched her career high with four steals in the outing.