Women's Hoops Opens Sunday at Alabama State

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 10/11 South Carolina women’s basketball tips off the 2018-19 season on Sunday at Alabama State as head coach Dawn Staley takes sophomore guard Bianca Jackson back to compete in her hometown. The Gamecocks face Alabama State, coached by Jackson’s mother Freda Freeman-Jackson, at 4 p.m. ET.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• South Carolina begins its 45th season of women’s basketball tonight and its 11th under the tutelage of head coach Dawn Staley.

• Under Staley, the Gamecocks have played in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Elite Eight in three of the last four seasons. South Carolina has won four of the last five SEC regular-season titles and the last four SEC Tournament championships. The Gamecocks have spent 90 weeks in the AP Top 10, including the last 88 AP polls.

• Today’s season opener is just the fifth on the road in the Staley era at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 3-1 in the previous four with wins in the last three. The last time South Carolina opened on the road was in 2016 when it defeated #7 Ohio State 92-80. Overall, Staley is 8-2 in season openers at South Carolina.

• The Gamecocks open the 2018-19 season ranked 10th in the Associated Press Preseason Poll and 11th in the USA Today/Coaches’ Poll. It marks the sixth-straight season that South Carolina has started the season ranked in both polls and the fifth time opening in the top 10.

• Today’s season opener is the last in the Gamecock careers of seniors Doniyah Cliney, Bianca Cuevas-Moore and Alexis Jennings. Cliney and Cuevas-Moore are in their fifth seasons at South Carolina, while Jennings is on hand for her second season opener in Garnet and Black after transferring prior to the 2016-17 season. Redshirt senior Nelly Perry may take the floor for her first and final season opener as a Gamecock as she joined the team this season after completing her degree at Clemson last spring.

• Three Gamecock freshmen will have a chance to make their college debut today. Guard Destanni Henderson and forwards Victaria Saxton and Elysa Wesolek all saw action in last week’s exhibition game. Junior transfer Te’a Cooper may also make her official Gamecock debut today after she transferred from Tennessee prior to the 2017-18 season.

• Today’s game marks the return of sophomore guard Bianca Jackson to her hometown, playing on the court on which she trained with and against her mother’s team. In her college debut last season against Alabama State, Jackson added eight points, six rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. She went on to earn SEC All-Freshman Team honors and finish the season averaging 7.3 points on 39.4 percent field goal shooting. Jackson is the Gamecocks’ top returning 3-point shooter as she hit 39.4 percent (41-of-104) from outside the arc last season.

BY THE NUMBERS

2 Gamecocks who have been named to national award preseason watch lists – Tyasha Harris (Nancy Lieberman Award) and Alexis Jennings (Katrina McClain Award)

8 Returning letterwinners for South Carolina, including four starters

12 Possible games against nationally ranked opponents on the Gamecocks’ schedule this season, including seven against teams in the AP Top 10

64.7 Percent of last season’s scoring that the Gamecocks return for 2018-19

ALABAMA STATE SERIES NOTES

The Gamecocks won the only previous meeting between the two teams, topping Alabama State 99-31 in Columbia on Nov. 10, 2017. The Gamecock offense dropped the hammer early, and the defense stymied the Lady Hornets right out of the gate. South Carolina shot 50.0 percent in the first quarter and a sterling 68.8 percent in the second quarter to score 56 points by halftime. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks limited Alabama State to just 14 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Two current Gamecocks scored in double digits in that inaugural game  of the series. Forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan led all scorers with 18 points off the bench as she hit 7-of-10 from the field. Guard Doniyah Cliney netted 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, aided by five steals in the game.

ALL ABOUT BAMA STATE

The Lady Hornets return five letterwinners from last season’s 8-22 team, and head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson welcomed nine newcomers to the fold for the 2018-19 campaign.

Headlining the returning group is senior center Tatyana Calhoun, who picked up Preseason First-Team All-SWAC honors  prior to this season. As a junior, she ranked 18th in the conference in scoring (9.7 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (6.0 rpg). The top returning guard for the Lady Hornets is Arleatha Gipson, who started 15 of the team’s 30 games last season and added 4.8 points per game on 38.1 percent field goal shooting.

Alabama State opened the 2018-19 season on Wednesday, falling at Kentucky 87-35. The Lady Hornets got off to a strong start, trailing by just one point at 15-14 after the first quarter. Freshman forward Ayana Emmanuel led the offense with eight points, while freshman forward Shmya Ward pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. 

ON OPENING DAY

The Gamecock are 32-12 all-time in season openers with a 10-9 record in openers played on the road. Head coach Dawn Staley is 8-2 in her season openers at South Carolina, including a 3-1 mark on the road. 

The Gamecocks dropped their first season opener under Staley, falling at Penn State on Nov. 16, 2008. They started the following season on the road as well, claiming a 70-66 double-overtime win at Charlotte (Nov. 16). The 2011-12 season tipped off on the road with a 71-52 win at Illinois (Nov. 11). The most recent road season opener was a gritty 92-80 win at then-#7 Ohio State on Nov. 14, 2016.

South Carolina’s last loss in a season opener  was to then-#5 Xavier on Nov. 12, 2012.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH

With the release of the Preseason AP Poll on Wednesday, the Gamecocks found out just how challenging their 2018-19 schedule is. Up to 11 future opponents are ranked in the top 25, including six in the top 10. 

Six of the top-25 opponents are non-conference games as once again Staley has planned to test her team beginning with No. 6 Maryland (Nov. 18). The Vancouver Showcase could see South Carolina play No. 8 Oregon State in the second round a No. 1 Notre Dame in the title game. The Gamecocks return to Columbia to face No. 4 Baylor (Dec. 2) and a week later travel to No. 21 Duke (Dec. 9). A trip to No. 2 UConn rounds out the list of ranked non-conference games.

Five SEC teams are ranked in the preseason with South Carolina set to face No. 6 Mississippi State at home and on the road. The Gamecocks host No. 14 Georgia and No. 16 Missouri and will travel to No. 11 Tennessee and No. 20 Texas A&M.

WHO’S BACK?

Entering the 2018-19 season, the natural reaction is to talk about what South Carolina has lost – the unanimous National Player of the Year, No. 1 WNBA Draft Pick A’ja Wilson. But, the cupboard in Columbia is certainly not bare.

The Gamecocks return eight letterwinners from last season’s NCAA Elite Eight team, including four starters.  That group of eight accounted for 64.7 percent of last season’s points and 67.6 percent of its rebounding.

South Carolina also returns fifth-year senior Bianca Cuevas-Moore, who played a key role in the 2017 NCAA Championship.