Nov. 26, 2011
Game Information
Date: Sunday, November 27, 2011
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Tickets: $7 adult, $4 youth (17 & under)
TV: SportSouth (Bob Rathbun and Debbie Antonelli; ESPN3
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller and Marcy Girton); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Presbyterian Series: SC leads 1-0; In Columbia: SC leads 1-0; In Clinton: Never Met; At Neutral Site:Never Met
South Carolina Notables
- This is the Gamecocks’ 38th season as a varsity sport.
- Junior forward Ashley Bruner has averaged 10.3 rebounds over the last three games, including 5.7 on the offensive end.
- The Gamecocks’ trio of starting guards have scored or assisted on more than 50 percent of the team’s points in every game this season.
- Senior guard Markeshia Grant tied her career high with 14 points against CofC, including 10 in the second half.
- The 2011-12 season is the fourth at the helm for South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. Her teams have improved by four wins each of the last two campaigns, capped by last season’s 18-15 mark.
Notes
A South Carolina Win Would…
- Make the Gamecocks 5-1 to start the season, the best mark since opening the 2003-04 season with an 8-1 mark.
- Be the Gamecocks’ fourth straight over an in-state opponents this season.
- Give head coach Dawn Staley her second-best season-opening start behind her 2005-06 Temple team’s 6-0 start.
By the Numbers
.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
3 Games this season in which all 13 Gamecocks on the active roster participated – Illinois, Clemson and CofC
4 Games out of five this season that the Gamecocks have pulled down a majority of their rebounds on the offensive end – Illinois (18-34), Alabama A&M (21-39), Penn State (25-40) and CofC (26-46)
5 Games this season in which the trio of starting guards – Markeshia Grant, La’Keisha Sutton and Ieasia Walker – has scored or assisted on more than half of the team’s points, including contributing to 75.0 percent of the 60 points against Alabama A&M
6 Assists handed out by La’Keisha Sutton at Clemson (Nov. 17), her 21st career game with five or more, during which South Carolina is 12-9
13 Steals by Ashley Bruner through five games, more than double her previous career high of 24 in 2010-11 and more than a third of her career total (36) coming into this season
34 More shots than Penn State that the Gamecocks took thanks to 25 offensive rebounds and 23 Lady Lions’ turnovers
47.2 Percent of points scored by the bench this season (144 of 305)
50.9 Percent of made field goals that have been assisted this season (55 of 108), the highest mark of the Dawn Staley era – the previous high was last season’s 45.8 percent
Presbyterian Series Notes
South Carolina has faced the Blue Hose just once before in women’s basketball. The Gamecocks posted a 68-40 victory over Presbyterian in Columbia on Dec. 28, 2010, to open up the series ledger between the two schools. A trio of guards led the South Carolin aoffense in that game with Ieasia Walker netting a game-high 15 points, while La’Keisha Sutton added 13 while handing out five assists. The Gamecocks shot a season-best 52.1 percent in the outing.
Representing South Carolina
The University of South Caorlina is 128-73 (.635) all-time in games played against other schools within the state. The Gamecocks are undefeated against 10 of the 18 in-state opponents they have faced – Benedict College, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Erskine, Lander, Presbyterian, USC Aiken, USC Upstate, Voorhees and Wofford. Carolina is 76-18 in home games against its in-state foes. The Clemson series is the longest running at 57 games, including this season’s 65-48 victory, and has the msot Gamecock wins, 24.
For Starters
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has started the same five Gamecocks in each game this season and has always liked the idea of bringing an offensive weapon off the bench. That strategy seems to be working to full effect this season as 47.2 percent of the Gamecocks’ scoring has come from someone not in the starting five. It is the highest percentage of bench scoring in Staley’s tenure at South Carolina – in 2010-11, the bench netted 36.7 percent of the team’s points, in 2009-10, it was 27.5 percent, and in her inaugural season of 2008-09 it was 29.0 percent. The delay tactic has not slowed the Gamecocks’ production in the early going as they have been in the lead in all every game in the opening five minutes.
