Another Top-25 Battle at Colonial Life Arena Sunday
#1/2 SOUTH CAROLINA (20-1, 8-0 SEC) VS #22/22 TENNESSEE (17-4, 7-1 SEC)
1 P.M. | COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (18,000)
South Carolina Game Notes | WATCH: ESPN2 | LISTEN: 107.5 FM The Game | Live Stats
ABOUT THIS GAME
- While the Lady Vols hold a commanding lead in the all-time series (48-7), the Gamecocks are 5-3 against Tennessee in the last five seasons and 6-11 in the Staley era.
- South Carolina has won its last two games against the Lady Vols, including last season’s 82-67 win in Knoxville.
- Today’s game features the top two shot blocking teams in the country with the Gamecocks leading Tennessee 8.2-7.4 per game. In the individual battle, Tennessee’s Tamari Key edges out Carolina’s Aliyah Boston 2.9-2.7 per game to rank 11th and 17th in the nation, respectively.
- The first 350 fans will receive a puzzle of this season’s team poster.
PARKING/FAN INFORMATION
- Parking is available for $10 per vehicle in the Discovery Garage and the City Garage (located near Pendleton, Park and Lincoln Streets). (See parking map here)
- FREE parking is available in the Pendleton Street Garage (corner of Pickens and Pendleton). The shuttle from that location, which departs and returns to Pickens Street, begins two hours before tipoff and runs until one hour after the game ends. (See campus and shuttle map here)
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- South Carolina locked up its ninth-straight 20-win season with Thursday’s victory at Ole Miss. It is the Gamecocks’ quickest march to 20 wins since the 2015-16 team opened the season 22-0.
- South Carolina has dominated the rebounding game this season, ranked third in the nation in rebounding average (47.4) and in rebounding margin (+13.3). Their effort on the offensive glass – first in the nation in offensive rebounding rate (.452) – with the Gamecocks averaging 17.0 second-chance points on the season, including 18.2 in SEC games.
- After a tough outing against #9/9 Mississippi State, the Gamecock bench has thrived in the last two outings, averaging 41.0 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting. Three of the eight double-digit scorers in those games came off the bench. Sophomore Destanni Henderson led the charge with her 11.5 points per game as much as her 4.5 assists per outing in that stretch.
- Senior point guard Tyasha Harris, who is on every national player of the year watch list, is the only Gamecock to score in double figures in every SEC game this season (13.0 ppg) while handing out 5.5 assists per SEC game. Over the last five games, she led the team with 13.4 points and 5.4 assists per game. During that stretch, she shot 47.2 percent from the field, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from 3-point range.
- Freshman Aliyah Boston is one of four league players averaging a double-double in SEC action this season, joining a senior and two juniors in the standing. She is the only one of the four also ranked in blocks per league game.
- Thursday’s leading scorer, Laeticia Amihere (16 pts) will miss today’s game as she works toward making the Canadian National Team for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium, which runs Feb. 6-9.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 South Carolinas four wins over RPI top-25 teams leads the country, as does its seven wins vs. top-50 RPI teams.
10.4 The Gamecocks have allowed just 10.4 points per first quarter in SEC games this season, including five games of single-digit first quarters.
28.2 Between her scoring and points scored off her assists, Tyasha Harris has her hands on 28.2 percent (23.7 ppg) of the Gamecocks’ scoring.
29.5 South Carolina’s list of offensive weapons goes beyond the starting lineup as the bench averages 29.5 points per SEC game – 33.2 percent of the offense.
44.5 Carolina averages 44.5 points in the paint in SEC games – 21.0 by the guards and 23.5 by the forwards.
60.3 Aliyah Boston has immediately scored (field goal or free throw) on 60.3 percent of her offensive rebounds in SEC games.
