Dec. 1, 2013
Game Information
Opponent: North Carolina Central
Date: Monday, December 2, 2013, 7 p.m.
Site: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Tickets: $7 adult, $4 youth (17 and under)
TV: Fox Sports South (Andy Demetra, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: WNKT 107.5 FM/WISW 1320 AM (Brad Muller); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
Series History: First Meeting
South Carolina Notables
- This is the Gamecocks’ 40th season as a varsity sport, the sixth with head coach Dawn Staley at the helm. It is South Carolina’s 23rd season in the SEC.
- With 25 offensive rebounds so far this season, junior Aleighsa Welch has moved into sixth place in school history with 260 career offensive boards, just 14 away from a spot in the top five.
- South Carolina leads the SEC in field goal percentage (.496), rebounding margin (+13.9), blocks per game (6.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). The Gamecocks are among the top 10 in the nation in each category as well.
- Tiffany Mitchell’s production on the West Coast catapulted her up the SEC standings in five categories – 14.4 ppg (11th), .554 field goal percentage (5th), 3.9 assists per game (13th), 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio (13th) and 2.4 steals per game (5th).
- Junior Aleighsa Welch is the only one of the SEC’s top five rebounders to also rank among the conference’s top 15 scorers – 13.6 ppg (15th), 9.0 rpg (4th). Similarly, center Alaina Coates is the only SEC freshman to rank among the league’s top 20 rebounders and top 30 scorers as she pulls down 8.9 boards per game (6th overall, 2nd among freshmen) and scores 13.0 points per game (21st overall, 4th among freshmen).
Notes
A South Carolina Win Would…
- Be head coach Dawn Staley’s 100th at South Carolina
- Be the Gamecocks’ eighth straight to open the season, matching last season’s start, which stretched to 10 before a loss to then-No. 1 Stanford.
- Bring Staley within one win of Pam Parsons (1978-82) for third all-time in Gamecock women’s basketball history.
By the Numbers
1 Gamecock who has scored in double figures in each game this season – Tiffany Mitchell
2 Gamecocks who average 3.9 assists or more so far this season – Khadijah Sessions (4.0) and Tiffany Mitchell (3.9)
3 Individual 20-point games this season by the Gamecocks – two by Alaina Coates (Charleston Southern, at San Diego State) and one by Tiffany Mitchell (at Southern Cal)
4 Statistical categories in which South Carolina leads the SEC- field goal percentage (.496), rebounding margin (+13.9), blocks per game (6.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5)
5 Different Gamecocks who have been the team’s high scorer in a game this season – Alaina Coates (Charleston Southern, at San Diego State), Aleighsa Welch (LA Tech, at Clemson), Asia Dozier (CofC), Elem Ibiam (Seton Hall) and Tiffany Mitchell (at USC)
5 Double-doubles by the Gamecocks this season – three from Aleighsa Welch (LA Tech, CofC, at Clemson)and two from Alaina Coates (LA Tech, CofC)
6 Opponents who have been held to 55 or fewer points by the Gamecocks this season
9 Gamecocks of the 12 on the roster who have played in every game this season
30.1 Trips to the free throw line per game by the Gamecocks this season, including a season-high 44 attempts against Seton Hall (Nov. 17), of which South Carolina made 30 – second-most in the Staley era
31.9 Points per game by which South Carolina has won its seven games this season, ranking third in the SEC and top-10 in the nation
57.9 Percent field goal shooting for the Gamecocks in the second half of games this season
65.0 Percent of field goals made this season that have been assisted
NC Central Series Notes
Tonight marks the first meeting between these two programs. The Gamecocks have faced six teams that are currently members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with NC Central. South Carolina is 38-9 against MEAC schools, including a 23-9 record against South Carolina State. The Bulldogs are the only MEAC team to ever defeat the Gamecocks in women’s basketball.
Century City
Head coach Dawn Staley is going for her 100th victory at South Carolina tonight. If the Gamecocks win, Staley will become the fourth of the program’s seven all-time head coaches to reach the mark and the fastest to the total of the three coaches to lead the team in the SEC era by nearly a full season. South Carolina’s third head coach, Pam Parsons, was the first and the fastest to reach 100 victories, hitting the plateau in her 143rd game at the helm just six games into her fifth season (1981-82). Nancy Wilson was next up, winning her 100th game in her 150th outing late in the 1988-89 season, en route to her school-record 231 Gamecock victories. Susan Walvius was the first head coach to have her entire South Carolina career in the SEC, hitting 100 wins in her 179th game on the sideline five games into her seventh season.
December Decisions
In its 40th season of women’s basketball, South Carolina is 155-78 (.665) all-time in the month of December, including a 23-6 record (.793) in the sixth season of the Dawn Staley era. The Gamecocks hold a winning record in all three site possibilities during the month – 93-23 (.802) at home, 33-30 (.524) on the road and 24-23 (.511) at neutral sites.
Home Sweet Home
With comprehensive records beginning in the 1976-77 season (the third for women’s basketball at South Carolina), the Gamecocks are 366-155 (.702) all-time in games played at home, including a 121-58 mark (.677) in Colonial Life Arena. In the sixth season with head coach Dawn Staley at the helm, South Carolina is 56-25 (.691) at home, including one game at Carolina Coliseum in the 2012-13 season. The Gamecocks have won 42 of their last 53 games played in Colonial Life Arena.
