Dec. 19, 2014
Game Information
Tournament: Subway Classic
Date: Sat., Dec. 20, Noon (CT) vs. Central Michigan; Sun., Dec. 21, Noon (CT) vs. Liberty
Site: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
Broadcast: Big Ten Network Plus (free online) – Saturday Link, Sunday Link
Radio: 107.5 The Game (Brad Muller); GamecocksOnline.com
Live Stats:
South Carolina Notables
- Led by super-subs Alaina Coates and A’ja Wilson, the Gamecock bench has accounted for 47.5 percent of the team’s scoring this season. In fact, the bench has out-scored the starters five times this season – San Diego State, vs. Wisconsin, Charlotte, Savannah State and at Hampton.
- South Carolina leads the SEC in scoring margin (+31.3), field goal percentage (.488(, 3-point field goal percentage (.368), assists (19.9), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) and blocked shots (6.1).
- Three Gamecocks rank among the SEC’s top 15 in assists per game – Khadijah Sessions (8th, 3.7), Tina Roy (9th, 3.6) and Tiffany Mitchell (T-12th), 3.3).
- Junior national player of the year candidate Tiffany Mitchell is sixth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 53.5 percent from beyond the arc. With 43 3-point attempts, nearly half of her 87 field goal attempts have come from 3-point range.
- Sophomore Alaina Coates has posted five double-doubles this season, including three in the last four games. With 15 in her career, she is just five away from making the Gamecocks’ career-high top 10.
Notes
A South Carolina Win Would…
- Make the Gamecocks 11-0 for the first time in school history and leave them one shy of the school-record win streak of 12 set twice during the 2001-02 and 1979-80 seasons.
By the Numbers
2 Games this season in which junior Tiffany Mitchell has hit her career high of six 3s – San Diego State (Nov. 23) and at Hampton (Dec. 17)
5 Double-doubles by Alaina Coates this season, second-best in the SEC
5.6 Made 3-pointers per game by the Gamecocks this season, including two games of 9 3s – Syracuse (Nov. 28) and San Diego State (Nov. 23) – which ties the Staley-era record achieved seven times in her previous six seasons
6 Statistical categories in which South Carolina ranks among the nation’s top
8 Games in which South Carolina has assisted on more than 2/3 of its made field goals
19 Career double-doubles by senior forward Aleighsa Welch, leaving her one shy of tying for 10th in school history – her eight in SEC action are tied for third
47.5 Percent of this season’s scoring that has come from the bench (378 of 795)
977 Career points for junior Tiffany Mitchell, leaving her 23 shy of becoming the 30th Gamecock to reach 1,000
Two Grand
Junior guard Tiffany Mitchell is closing in on 1,000 career points, sitting 23 points away from joining teammate Aleighsa Welch at the milestone. The last time the Gamecocks boasted two 1,000-point scorers on the same team was 2001-02 when Shaunzinski Gortman and Jocelyn Penn both reached that plateau. In program history, there have been nine seasons that featured multiple 1,000-point scorers, including three seasons that saw three Gamecocks who surpassed the benchmark.
Perfect 10
South Carolina is 10-0 this season for the second time in the last three campaigns and the third time in program history (2012-13, 1981-82). The 10-game win streak is the second-longest in school history. The program record for consecutive wins in a season is 12, which has been achieved twice. The first game came in 1979-80, spanning Jan. 12 through Feb. 9. The most recent team to hit the mark was the 2001-02 squad. Both streaks included three wins over ranked opponents.
Diehard Defenders
While the offense has fluctuated in source and volume, the one standard for the Gamecocks – this season and throughout head coach Dawn Staley’s career – has been their defense. South Carolina is third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 48.2 points per game with no opponent scoring more than 63 points. The Gamecocks have also built their success on the glass – another area that Staley preaches as a measure of effort as much as talent. South Carolina ranks 15th in the nation in rebounding margin, out-boards its opponents by 11.8 per game. The Gamecocks have out-paced their opponent by at least 20 rebounds in three games this season – Clemson (+22), Savannah State (+35) and at Hampton (+27).
