Women's Hoops Top-20 Road Test Sunday
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (26-1) VS. #14/16 KENTUCKY (20-5)
2 P.M. | LEXINGTON, KY. | MEMORIAL COLISEUM
SOUTH CAROLINA GAME NOTES | TV: ESPN2 | RADIO: 98.5 FM WOMG | LIVE STATS | MEDIA AVAILABILITY
ABOUT THIS GAME
- South Carolina has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against Kentucky, dating back to the 2016-17 season. The Gamecocks are 16-10 against the Wildcats in the Dawn Staley era.
- A win today would be Staley’s 300th at South Carolina.
- A win today would be South Carolina’s 200th SEC regular-season victory.
- A win today would clinch at least a share of the SEC regular-season championship. It would be the fifth title in the last seven season for the Gamecocks.
- Today’s individual milestone watch includes: Tyasha Harris needs one steal to move into the program’s all-time top 10 in career steals; Mikiah Herbert Harrigan is two blocks way from 200.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- South Carolina’s success has been built on both sides of the ball as the Gamecocks are eighth in the country in scoring offense (82.4) and 18th in scoring defense (55.3). Both numbers are markedly improved over last season and measure up against the 2017 National Championship team, which also won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles.
- The Gamecocks have out-scored their opponents in the paint 41.5-25.0 points per game this season, and the production has been split somewhat evenly between forwards and guards. Post players account for 52.0 percent of the points in the paint (21.5 ppg) compared to 48.0 percent from the guards (20.0 ppg). South Carolina’s guards have matched or out-scored the forwards in the paint 12 times this season.
- South Carolina’s bench is out-scoring SEC opponent benches by 10.1 points per game. The Gamecock bench accounts for 27.3 points per SEC game – 32.2 percent of the total offense.
- Aliyah Boston is in the midst of one of the best freshman seasons in Gamecock history. With three regular-season games remaining she already holds the program’s freshman-season records for blocked shots (75), double-doubles (11) and double-doubles in SEC games (6). She holds single-game freshman records in rebounds (25 vs. Arkansas, 1/9) and blocks (10 vs. Alabama St., 11/5).
- Senior Mikiah Herbert Harrigan has been more aggressive on the glass in the last six games, pulling in 6.7 rebounds per game in the stretch, which included three games against ranked teams.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 Only two teams have scored more points against the Gamecocks than their season average entering the game.
2.9 Senior point guard Tyasha Harris’ 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is ranked sixth in the nation after she has had 27 assists and one turnovers over the last four games.
4 In SEC games, four Gamecocks who come off the bench average at least 5.5 points, led by Destanni Henderson’s 8.1 average.
6.2 The Gamecocks have made 6.2 3-pointers per game over the last five games, up from their 5.2 average entering that stretch.
11 South Carolina leads the nation with 11 top-50 RPI wins this season. Two of the Gamecocks’ three remaining regular-season games are against top-25 RPI teams.
17.1 The Gamecocks average 17.1 second-chance points per game on a 44.2 percent offensive rebounding rate (2nd in the nation).
