Nov. 29, 2011
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Arena: Cintas Center (10,250). Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Xavier Series: XU leads 2-0; In Cincinnati: XU leads 1-0; In Columbia: XU leads 1-0; At Neutral Site:Never Met
South Carolina Notables
- This is the Gamecocks’ 38th season as a varsity sport.
- Junior forward Ashley Bruner has averaged 10.7 points and 12.7 rebounds over the last three games. That rebounding number includes 6.7 offensive per game.
- 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, including a season-high 75.0 percent against Alabama A&M.
- Junior guard Ieasia Walker tied her career high with six assists against Presbyterian to move into a tie for second on the team with 15 for the season.
- Freshman Tina Roy enjoyed a career game against Presbyterian. Playing just 22 minutes, she scored 15 points on five 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and swiped a pair of steals.
Notes
A South Carolina Win Would…
- Make the Gamecocks 6-1 to start the season, the best mark since opening the 2003-04 season with an 8-1 mark.
- Be Dawn Staley’s first over Xavier as head coach of the Gamecocks. She was 7-4 against the Musketeers in her eight seasons at Temple.
- Be the Gamecocks’ third on the road this season, matching last season’s total. Under Staley, the most true road games South Carolina has won was five in 2009-10.
By the Numbers
2 Categories in which South Carolina leads the SEC – scoring defense (45.3 ppg – fifth in the nation) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.190 – 11th in the nation)
4 Games this season in which all 13 Gamecocks on the active roster participated – Illinois, Clemson and CofC
5 3-pointers made by freshman Tina Roy against Presbyterian, the second-most by an SEC player this season
6 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
14 Steals by Ashley Bruner through six games, more than half her previous career high of 24 in 2010-11 and more than a third of her career total (36) coming into this season
30 Points out of the team’s 30 scored by the Gamecocks’ bench in the second half against Presbyterian
52.1 Percent of points scored by the bench this season (144 of 305)
55.8 Percent of made field goals that have been assisted this season (72 of 129), the highest mark of the Dawn Staley era – the previous high was last season’s 45.8 percent
Xavier Series Notes
The Musketeers lead the series 2-0 after last season’s 84-65 outcome in the last season’s opener at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina’s Ashley Bruner turned in her first career double-double in that game, adding 17 points to her 15 rebounds against then-No. 5/6 Xavier. The only other meeting between the two teams was a 70-65 Xavier overtime victory in the WNIT on March 17, 2006. South Carolina head coach has a much longer history with the Musketeers thanks to her eight seasons at Temple, an Atlantic 10 Conference rival of Xavier. Routinely among the league’s top two teams, Staley held a 7-4 edge over the Musketeers.
Road Warriors
South Carolina has a 181-230 (.440) all-time record on the road. The Gamecocks’ best season on the road was 1979-80 when they went 11-4. Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 12-21 in road games. In her 11th season as a head coach, Staley has a 74-67 road record.
Defense Hits High Marks
The South Carolina defense has proven to be among the best in the nation this week as the NCAA released its statistical rankings for the first time this season. The Gamecocks are fifth in the nation (first in the SEC) in scoring defense, yielding just 45.3 points per game this season. In fact, no team has scored more than 55 points on Carolina so far. Much of that low scoring may be attributed to the Gamecocks’ ability to defend the 3-point shot, a category in which they rank 11th in the nation (first in the SEC) with opponents hitting just 19.0 percent from beyond the arc. And, finally, South Carolina is 20th in the country (third in the SEC) in turnover margin at +7.8. The Gamecocks have forced at least 20 turnovers in four of their six games this season while only committing 20 or more turnovers once.
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 52.1 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.
Exploring Diversity
Throughout the preseason, head coach Dawn Staley talked about the versatility of her team as a key to the season’s success. So far, the Gamecocks’ ability to get points from various locations has delivered the program’s best opening record since 2003-04. In six games, five different players have led the team in scoring – Ashley Bruner (2), Markeshia Grant (1), Tina Roy (1), Charenee Stephens (1) and Ieasia Walker (1).
