Dec. 9, 2011

Complete Game Notes

Game Information

Date: Sunday, December 11, 2011
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena
Tickets: $7 adult, $4 youth (17 & under)
TV: SportSouth (Andy Demetra and Debbie Antonelli); ESPN3 (Subject to blackout in SEC markets)
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller and Marcy Girton); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Furman Series: SC leads 10-1; In Columbia: SC leads 7-0; In Greenville: SC leads 3-1; At Neutral Site: Never Met

South Carolina Notables

• In the last two seasons, the South Carolina defense has yielded 55 points or less 21 times, including seven of eight contests this season. The Gamecocks lead the SEC and are sixth in the nation this season in scoring defense (47.9).
• Junior transfer Sancheon White has shot 50.0 percent from the field for 8.0 ppg over the last two games.
• Freshman Aleighsa Welch has averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds over the last three games, shooting 86.6 percent during that span.
• Senior La’Keisha Sutton needs 15 points and 15 assists to become just the 11th player in school history to amass at least 1,000 points and 300 assists in her career. The last to reach both marks was Cristina Ciocan in the 2003-04 season.

Notes

A South Carolina Win Would…

• Make the Gamecocks 7-2 to start the season, the best mark since opening the 2007-08 season with the same mark.
• Be head coach Dawn Staley’s 48th at South Carolina, leaving her two shy of fourth place in school history for career wins (currently held by Terry Kelly with 50).
• Be the Gamecocks’ eighth straight over an opponent based in the state of South Carolina.
• Be the Gamecocks’ 97th in Colonial Life Arena.

By the Numbers
2 Turnover categories in which South Carolina is ranked in the nation’s top 20 – turnover margin (17th, +7.4) and fewest turnovers per game (19th, 14.1)
4 Wins away from 100 at Colonial Life Arena
5 Entries in the South Carolina freshman single-game top five by forward Aleighsa Welch so far this season – offensive rebounds (twice), blocked shots, free throws made and free throw attempts
6 South Carolina’s national ranking in scoring defense, which is also tops in the SEC
7 Games on South Carolina’s schedule against teams with a current (as of 12/4) top-50 RPI – Penn State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt (2 games), Florida (2 games) and Illinois
15 Points away from 1,000 for La’Keisha Sutton, who would become the 27th Gamecock to reach that plateau and the first since Lauren Simms hit the mark in the 2006-07 season – Sutton is also 15 assists away from 300, becoming just the 14th Gamecock to hit that mark
17 Steals by Ashley Bruner through eight games, which is more than two-thirds of her previous career high of 24 in 2010-11 and nearly half of her career total (36) coming into this season
52 South Carolina’s RPI as of Dec. 4
52.6 Percent of this season’s made field goals that have been assisted (91 of 173), the highest mark of the Dawn Staley era – the previous high was last season’s 45.8 percent
53.0 Percent of points scored by the bench, which includes five games of accounting for more than half the team’s total points – at Illinois, vs. College of Charleston, vs. Presbyterian, at Xavier and at NC State.

Furman Series Notes
Today’s game re-starts an in-state battle that has been on hiatus for a decade. South Carolina holds a 10-1 lead over Furman, although the two teams have not met since Nov. 16, 2001, when the Gamecocks posted a 94-74 win in Columbia. South Carolina is a perfect 7-0 against the Paladins on its home court. The lone Furman victory in the series was a 101-84 outcome on Jan. 25, 1995.

Defense Hits High Marks
In the NCAA statistical rankings released through games of Dec. 4, the South Carolina defense is among the nation’s best. The Gamecocks were sixth in the nation (first in the SEC) in scoring defense (47.9 ppg) and 17th in turnover margin. South Carolina has allowed more than 55 points just once in eight games this season – Xavier netted 56 on Nov. 30. The trio of experienced guards have helped the Gamecocks on both sides of the turnover margin. The Gamecocks have forced 20 or more turnovers in five of their eight games this season while committing 20 or more turnovers only once (vs. College of Charleston, Nov. 23). In fact, that is the only game South Carolina has turned it over more than 15 times this season.

Defense – Part Deux
Under head coach Dawn Staley, stingy defense has been a staple of the Gamecock game plan. South Carolina has allowed just 61.0 points per game on Staley’s watch, including a 47.9 average this season and a 59.6 mark in 2010-11. In the last two seasons, the Gamecocks allowed 55 or fewer points in a game 21 times, including seven of eight games this season. In the 98 games with Staley at the helm, South Carolina has held an opponent to 55 points 29 times. In that same period, an opponent has netted 70 or more points in a game just 26 times. One of the more interesting facets of that statistic is that the Gamecocks have not necessarily held opponents to a sub-par shooting percentage. Through Staley’s tenure, oponents have shot 41.4 percent from the field. South Carolina has shot 39.0 percent during that time with the Gamecocks’ season field goal percentage exceeding that of its opponents just once (2009-10). The defensive success appears to come from limiting opponent shot attempts entirely as South Carolina has put up more shots than its opponents every season except Staley’s first (2008-09). This season alone, the Gamecocks have taken 12.9 more shots per game than their opponents.