Basketball is Back at Colonial Life Arena Wednesday
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (0-0) VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (0-0)
NOON | COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (3,500)
South Carolina Game Notes | WATCH: SEC Network+ | LISTEN: 107.5 FM | Live Stats | Media Availability
ABOUT THIS GAME
- South Carolina is tipping off its 47th season of women’s basketball today and its 13th under the tutelage of head coach Dawn Staley.
- The Gamecocks are 19-2 in season openers under Staley, including wins in the last nine. South Carolina is 6-1 in home season openers in the Staley era.
- South Carolina holds a 16-9 edge over College of Charleston in the all-time series, including wins in the last nine meetings.
- This is the fourth meeting between the Gamecocks and Cougars in the Staley era with the most recent a 69-43 South Carolina victory on Dec. 5, 2017.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- November 25 marks the latest the Gamecocks have started a women’s basketball season since opening the 1994-95 season at the Dial Classic tournament in Minneapolis on Nov. 26 against Valparaiso. The latest known start for South Carolina was a Dec. 7, 1976, game at Claflin.
- South Carolina out-rebounded its opponent in 29 of 33 games last season, including 15 of 16 SEC regular-season contests. The Gamecocks finished the season with a school-record 46.5 rebounds per game and a program-best +12.4 rebounding margin. The 2020-21 roster includes Gamecocks that accounted for 80.6 percent of those rebounds.
- Senior guard LeLe Grissett is set for the final season opener of her career today. In her three seasons in the Garnet and Black, the Gamecocks have gone 84-18 overall and 41-7 in SEC play. The program has won one SEC regular-season title and two SEC Tournament championships and advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in her two career NCAA Tournaments.
- Sophomore Aliyah Boston is back for her second campaign after becoming the first Gamecock to win National Freshman of the Year honors. She is a unanimous AP Preseason All-America selection this season and is on the watch lists for the Naismith and Wade Trophies and the Lisa Leslie Award.
- Sophomore Zia Cooke joined Boston on the watch lists for the Naismith and Wade Trophies. She also earned a spot on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list.
- Sophomore Laeticia Amihere has been all the talk of the preseason as her agility and aggressive mindset have stood out at practice as she no longer wears the knee brace she donned last season. She is poised to improve on her 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game of last season.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 The Gamecocks’ three returning starters are all on the watch lists for their national positional awards.
26 The Gamecocks ended last season on a 26-game winning streak they are looking to extend tonight.
11 South Carolina has been ranked No. 1 in the last 11 AP Top 25 Polls.
69.4 South Carolina returns 69.4 percent of its school-record 82.0 points per game from last season.
25.5 Under Staley, South Carolina has won its season openers by an average of 25.5 points per game.
80.6 The Gamecocks return 80.6 percent of their school-record 46.5 rebounds per game from last season.
