Jan. 6, 2012

Game Notes

Game Information

Date: Sunday, January 8, 2012
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (12,000)
TV: None
Radio: WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller and Marcy Girton); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Florida Series: UF leads 20-8; In Gainesville: UF leads 8-5; In Columbia: UF leads 10-3; At Neutral Site: UF leads 2-0

South Carolina Notables

• This is the 38th season of women’s basketball at South Carolina and the Gamecocks’ 21st season in the SEC.
• South Carolina’s defense, rated second in the nation in points allowed (45.3), has held eight opponents to 48 or fewer points this season, the most since 2006-07.
• In conference games only, the Gamecocks lead the SEC in both steals per game (9.5) and turnover margin (+6.5).
• During its current seven-game win streak, the Gamecocks have scored 68.1 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting while holding opponents to 42.3 points per game on 34.7 percent shooting. South Carolina has a +11.4 rebounding advantage and a +7.0 turnover margin during the stretch as well.
• Freshman forward Aleighsa Welch leads the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting 67.6 percent on the season. Over the last five games, she has shot 75.0 percent (21-of-28) from the field, including a pair of games hitting better than 80 percent of her shots.
• Senior forward Charenee Stephens has been the team’s top rebounder in three of the last four games, including pulling in a game-high eight against #24/21 Vanderbilt, despite giving up four inches to the Commodores’ primary post players.

Notes

A South Carolina Win Would…

• Be the Gamecocks’ 14th of the season, the best season start since the 2002-03 team also went 14-2.
• Be the Gamecocks’ eighth-straight victory, the longest win streak since the 2003-04 team put together eight straight from Nov. 24 through Dec. 18 in non-conference action.
• Make the Gamecocks 3-0 in the SEC for the first time since the 2001-02 team started league play with four straight victories.
• Be Dawn Staley’s first over Florida while she is the Gamecocks’ head coach. Staley’s Temple team topped the Gators 85-80 in overtime on Jan. 2, 2007, in Gainesville.

By the Numbers
0 Games this season in which the Gamecocks have committed more turnovers than their opponent
.167 3-point field goal percentage (1-of-6) to which South Carolina limited Vanderbilt (Jan. 5), which had entered the game leading the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.8 percent
.447 Field goal percentage for the Gamecocks during the current seven-game win streak, which includes four players connecting on at least half their field goal attempts – Aleighsa Welch (.703), Markeshia Grant (.515), Charenee Stephens (.519) and Sancheon White (.500)
2 National rank for the Gamecocks in scoring defense
3 SEC rank in conference games only for the Gamecocks in field goal percentage (.427), compared to its rank of seventh (.399) for all games
4 Games in which freshman forward Aleighsa Welch has pulled down six offensive rebounds, which are the fourth-most by a freshman in school history
5 Games this season in which senior forward Charenee Stephens has been the team’s top rebounder (Clemson NC State, Savannah State, Drexel, and Vanderbilt), including three of the last four contests
8 Of the 13 Gamecocks on the active roster that have recorded at least one double-digit scoring game – the group has combined for double-digits 38 times
10 Rank of the Gamecocks’ +7.2 turnover margin in the country – Kentucky leads the nation with a +12.6 mark
11 Games this season that have been decided by more than 10 points, all won by the Gamecocks
13 Games in which South Carolina has had a lead at halftime, all resulting in victories
15 Games in which the Gameccocks’ bench has out-scored that of its opponent
45 RPI of the Gamecocks through games of Jan. 2, which is the fourth-best mark in the SEC behind Tennessee (2), Georgia (21) and LSU (25)
68.1 Points per game South Carolina has scored in its current seven-game win streak, compared to its 59.6 average during the season’s first eight games

Last Time Out
South Carolina improved to 2-0 in SEC action with a 65-55 win over #24/21 Vanderbilt Thursday night. The Gamecocks executed their game plan with precision, limiting the nation’s top 3-point shooting team to just 1-of-6 from behind the arc and forcing 26 turnovers, while constantly attacking the basket on offense to stretch their win streak to seven games. Freshman Aleighsa Welch poured in a season-high 19 points, thanks in large part to six offensive rebounds, while senior Charenee Stephens pulled down a game-high eight rebounds on the night.

Florida Series Notes
The Gators lead the series 20-8 and have won the last five meetings. Florida narrowly escaped Colonial Life Arena last season with a 65-63 victory on Jan. 9 on a bucket in the final 16 seconds. The Gamecocks are 5-8 against the Gators in Gainesville, which was the site of South Carolina’s last victory over Florida – a 69-65 decision on Feb. 24, 2008. South Carolina senior La’Keisha Sutton has put up the best career numbers versus Florida, averaging 13.0 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting while handing out 4.3 assists per game. Senior Charenee Stephens’ 6.0 rebounds per game against Florida leads the team, which includes her 10-rebound outing on Jan. 24, 2010. Ieasia Walker was the team’s top scorer in last season’s matchup, netting a game-high 22 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Road Warriors
South Carolina has a 183-231 (.442) 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 14-22 in road games. In her 11th season as a head coach, Staley has a 76-68 road record. The Gamecocks are 4-1 on the road so far this season. The most true road games South Carolina has won under Staley is five, which the 2009-10 team amassed. The Gamecocks have not won more than five true road games in a season since the 1990-91 squad went 6-4.