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Gamecocks+

May 1, 2014

Team Notes

  • No. 8/9 South Carolina was in the top 10 in the final rankings for the second time in school history, coming in behind the 1979-80 squad’s fourth in the final Associated Press poll of that season. The Gamecocks were ranked among the nation’s top 10 for 13 weeks, surpassing the 1981-82 squad’s school record of nine weeks in the top 10.
  • South Carolina made its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, bearing the No. 1 seed at the event for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three seasons and the fifth time in the program’s 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
  • The Gamecocks won the first women’s basketball SEC regular-season championship in school history, compiling a 14-2 mark to win the league outright. South Carolina clinched sole ownership of the title with a 67-56 win over Georgia on Senior Day at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks celebrated with their season-high 12,458 fans with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive on hand to present the trophy. In preseason voting, SEC coaches predicted a fifth-place finish for the Gamecocks with the media forecasting a seventh-place season.
  • This season’s title marks the third-straight season South Carolina finished fourth or better in the league after hitting that mark just once prior to the 2011-12 season (tied for second in 2001-02).
  • The Gamecocks’ 29 wins were the second-most in school history (30 in 1979-80), and their .853 winning percentage (29-5) is the new school record.
  • South Carolina has won at least 25 games each of the last three seasons, the first such stretch in program history.
  • The Gamecocks set new school records in blocked shots (240), free throws made (627) and free throw attempts (930 – shattering last season’s record of 791 despite playing just one additional game). The team’s +17.1 scoring margin and +8.8 rebounding margin are both second in program history.
  • South Carolina’s five losses all came against nationally ranked opponents – four of which were in the top 15 – with three of the five losses decided by eight or fewer points.
  • The Gamecocks were ranked among the nation’s top 10 in scoring defense (8th, 55.8 ppg), scoring margin (8th, +17.1 ppg), field goal percentage (6th, .474), field goal percentage defense (5th, .346) and blocked shots (2nd, 7.1 bpg).
  • South Carolina shot 47.4 percent from the field this season, the program’s highest percentage since the 2000-01 team shot 52.0 percent and the seventh-best accuracy in school history.
  • The Gamecocks were ranked as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Poll this season, the program’s highest ranking since the week of Jan. 10, 1982 (also No. 4).
  • South Carolina ranked 10th in the nation in average attendance this season, drawing 6,371 fans per game en route to the first undefeated record at Colonial Life Arena (16-0). The Gamecocks played four games in February and averaged 9,594 fans during the final month of the regular season. The crowd exceeded 10,000 for each of the last two home games of the season to come in as the top two showings at the facility since its grand opening, sellout crowd of 17,712 in Nov. 2002 – 12,458 against Georgia on Feb. 27 and 10,547 against Florida on Feb. 23.

Head Coach Dawn Staley Notes

  • Staley was named national Coach of the Year by Basketball Times and was a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year. She was named WBCA Region 3 Coach of the Year and, by vote of both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press, SEC Coach of the Year.
  • Staley is 121-71 (.630) through six seasons as the head coach at South Carolina, lifting her 14-year career record to 293-151 (.660). Her 121 wins is the third most by a Gamecock mentor, trailing Nancy Wilson (231, 13 seasons) and Susan Walvius (165, 11 seasons), and her winning percentage at South Carolina is the second-best in program history.
  • Staley has taken the Gamecocks into the postseason four times, including the last three NCAA Tournaments. She has guided 11 teams to postseason play in the 14 seasons of her head coaching career, including nine NCAA appearances.
  • Staley’s success has come with homegrown talent as the Gamecocks have landed a South Carolina Player of the Year in each of the last four seasons – Aleighsa Welch (2011), Asia Dozier (2012), Alaina Coates (2013) and 2014 signee A’ja Wilson.

Individual Student-Athlete Notes

  • Sophomore guard Tiffany Mitchell became the program’s first WBCA All-America selection, adding the same honor from the Associated Press (third team). The last Gamecock to earn All-America honors was Jocelyn Penn in 2003. Mitchell was a finalist for the Wade Trophy, just the fourth Gamecock to make the national player of the year list (Sheila Foster, 1981 and 1982; Shannon Johnson, 1996; Jocelyn Penn, 2003). Mitchell was the program’s first SEC Player of the Year and just the second sophomore in SEC history to win the award from the league’s coaches. She earned First-Team All-SEC honors from both the coaches and the AP, joining Penn (2003) and Shaunzinski Gortman (2002) as the only Gamecocks to boast both recognitions.
  • Junior forward Aleighsa Welch earned First-Team All-SEC honors from the league coaches and second-team recognition from the AP. A WBCA All-Region selection, Welch captured honorable mention All-America status from the AP. Her .574 field goal percentage is seventh-best in school history, and she ranks among the program’s career top 10 in offensive rebounds (5th, 342), free throws made (8th, 298) and career free throw attempts (7th, 470). All three of her season offensive rebound numbers rank among the program’s top 10, including this season’s 107 (5th) and last season’s 131 (2nd).
  • Freshman center Alaina Coates became the first SEC Freshman of the Year to also earn another of the league’s highest individual honors in conference history as she was also named SEC co-Sixth Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. She is the first Gamecock to earn either award from the SEC coaches, and she added SEC Newcomer of the Year honors from the AP. Coates was a Second-Team All-SEC selection and earned a spot on Full Court magazine’s Freshman All-America First Team. She was named to the NCAA Tournament Stanford Regional All-Tournament Team, the only player not playing in the regional final game to be recognized. Coates set program freshman records for season field goal percentage (.612) and rebounds in a game (17 vs. Kentucky, 1/9/14).
  • Junior center Elem Ibiam earned a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team, making it the first time in school history that two Gamecocks made the list as she joined Mitchell. Ibiam broke the school record for blocked shots in a season (83), in an SEC season (44) and in an SEC game (7 at Mississippi State, 2/6/14). Her 130 career blocks are currently sixth in school history.
  • The Gamecocks had just one senior on their 2013-14 roster – Wilka Montout, who played in 30 games and averaged 1.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.5 minutes this season.

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