Gamecock Gameday: Ready for Palmetto Series Showdown Thursday

Dec. 14, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 6/6 South Carolina hosts in-state rival Clemson Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena with the women’s basketball point in the Palmetto Series on the line. The Gamecocks (7-1) have won the last six meetings against the Tigers (8-1) and are looking to improve to 2-1 against ACC opponents this season.

South Carolina Notables

• Tonight’s edition of this long-standing in-state rivalry reunites Virginia alumnae Dawn Staley and Audra Smith now on opposite sidelines. The two head coaches were teammates on Virginia’s 1989-92 teams, helping the Cavaliers to three NCAA Final Fours, including a spot in the 1991 championship game. In the head coaching battle, Staley has come out on top in each of Smith’s three games in the annual rivalry.
• The winner of tonight’s game will earn that school another point in the Certified SC Grown Palmetto Series between South Carolina and Clemson. In its second season formalizing the in-state rivalry, the Palmetto Series is currently led by Clemson 5-4 with points available this month in women’s and men’s (Dec. 21) basketball.
• So far this season, the second quarter has been the most effect 10 minutes for the Gamecocks, who average a game-high 24.3 points and a game-high 54.7 percent in the period.
• South Carolina has had just one game this season decided by single-digit points — at Texas (Dec. 1).
• The Gamecocks’ 52 made 3-pointers this season are the program’s most through eight games since the 2003-04 team netted 56 in its first seven games of the season. The previous best in the Staley era was 10 games in 2014-15.

By the Numbers

1 Field goal made by the Gamecocks from inside the 3-point line but outside the paint against Minnesota (Dec. 11)
3 Gamecocks ranked among the SEC’s top 10 in field goal percentage, including Alaina Coates’ .692, which is second in the nation
4 Opponents who have been held under 30.0 percent field goal shooting by the Gamecocks
6 Games in which the Gamecock starting lineup has outscored the entire opposing team, including two games against ranked opponents (Ohio State, 85-80; Louisville 68-59)
9 Rebounds needed by Alaina Coates to match Marsha Williams’ 1,026 for second place in the Gamecocks career record book

Clemson Series Notes

Contested at least once every season since 1975-76, the series is currently in the Tigers’ favor, 33-28, but the Gamecocks have won the last six meetings and can match the longest win streak in the series with a win tonight. Clemson currently holds the mark with its seven wins from Feb. 5, 1996, through Nov. 28, 2001. South Carolina’s last six wins have come by an average of 27.2 points with a high of 58 in the last meeting at Colonial Life Arena. Clemson’s last win in the series was a double-overtime affair at Littlejohn, which the Tigers claimed 94-92 on Nov. 19, 2009. Staley’s inaugural season marked the Tigers’ last win in Colonial Life Arena, a 52-45 defensive battle on Nov. 19, 2008.

SEC Active

Senior Alaina Coates and junior A’ja Wilson feature prominently in the SEC’s active leader boards this season. Coates is running away with the double-double chart at 47 and the rebounding mark at 1,017 — over 350 more than the second-place player. Coates’ 185 career blocks are just behind league leader Wilson’s 188, more than 60 ahead of third place. Coates is fourth in scoring at 1,354 and in field goals made (502). In addition to leading the blocks list, Wilson is third in double-doubles with 20 and sixth in scoring with 1,145 career points. She is fourth in rebounding (577).

KD for 3

Junior transfer Kaela Davis wasted little time making her mark on the Gamecock program, opening her South Carolina career with a 37-point, 10-rebound, five-assist effort at No. 7/6 Ohio State (Nov. 14). A recent 22-point outing against Minnesota (Dec. 11) further solidified her outside shooting prowess, hitting 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Davis leads the SEC in both 3s made per game (2.9) and 3-point field goal percentage (.469), ranking 43rd and 28th in the nation, respectively. With 15.6 points per game, she ranks 10th in the league in scoring. Davis established herself as an elite scorer in two seasons at Georgia Tech, where she became the fastest Yellow Jacket to 1,000 career points, needing just 52 games to hit the mark, and was a two-time First-Team All-ACC selection. So far at South Carolina Davis has proven to be much more, showing the ability and willingness to play a variety of positions and roles. She is second on the team in assists at 3.0 per game and third in steals with a 1.1 average, while ranking third in rebounding at 5.4 per contest.

Talking Ty

Freshman point guard Tyasha Harris arrived in Columbia with lofty expectations and the ambition needed to play the position under Hall of Famer Dawn Staley. Rated the No. 8 point guard in the 2016 recruiting class, Harris has a winning pedigree with three straight state championships at Heritage Christian (Noblesville, Ind.) and a gold medal in the 2016 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Averaging 21.6 minutes so far this season, Harris is showing the poise and command of the position that originally caught Staley’s eye. Things seemed to click for the young guard against #4/4 Louisville (Nov. 27) when she drew the second-half start and handed out five of her career-high six assists in the final two periods. Her solid play continued at #14/15 Texas (Dec. 1) where she earned a career-best 30 minutes on the court with great effort that included three steals and no turnovers. Harris drew her first career start against Minnesota (Dec. 11) and delivered nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range and matched her career high with six assists in just 21 minutes of action.