Women's Basketball . March 4, 2021

No. 7 Gamecocks Open SEC Tournament Play Friday

SEC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
#7/7 SOUTH CAROLINA (19-4, 14-2) VS. ALABAMA (15-8, 8-8 SEC) or MISSOURI (9-10, 5-9 SEC)
6 P.M. | GREENVILLE, S.C. | BON SECOURS WELLNESS ARENA

GAMECOCKS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT

The Gamecocks are 23-24 all-time in SEC Tournament action, including a 20-7 mark under head coach Dawn Staley.
The 2020 SEC Tournament champion, South Carolina has won five of the last six tournament titles and is the only team in league history to win four consecutive titles at the event (2015-18).
Under Staley, the Gamecocks are 7-2 in SEC Tournament quarterfinal games.
South Carolina is 6-2 in SEC Tournament games played in Greenville and won two of their five titles in Bon Secours Wellness Arena (2017, 2020).
The Gamecocks are 3-2 all-time when playing the tournament as the No. 2 seed with all three wins coming en route to the 2018 title. They were also seeded second in 2002 and 2019.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

South Carolina’s schedule has been unmatched this season as the Gamecocks lead the nation in opponents’ winning percentage (.670). Staley has tested her team with 11 games against ranked opponent, more than any other team in the country, and that number includes four non-conference opponents. All four of the Gamecocks’ losses have been to ranked opponents, including the top three teams in this week’s AP Poll.
The Gamecocks have been a commanding force on the glass this season, ranking second in the nation in rebounds per game (48.7) and third in rebounding margin (+15.6). The offensive rebounding effort has been especially strong, ranking fourth in the country with 17.0 per game, which have led to 17.2 second-chance points per game. South Carolina has not been out-rebounded this season, and only Tennessee matched them on the glass.
South Carolina has long built its offense around the paint, and this season the Gamecocks average 43.7 points in the paint this season, accounting for 56.3 percent of their total offense. They have scored at least 60.0 percent of their points from the paint in seven games this season, including four against ranked opponents. The paint points are coming from both the forwards (20.2 ppg) and the guards (23.5 ppg).
It is no mystery that the Gamecocks want to play fast, and they are at their best when dominating the transition game. On the season, South Carolina averages 16.9 fast-break points per game while holding opponents to just 7.4 per game. The Gamecocks have been out-scored on the break just four times this season, going 2-2 in those games.
SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous AP Preseason All-American Aliyah Boston continues to be in the national player of the year conversation because of the many ways she can impact a game. Earning All-SEC First-Team honors for the second time in as many seasons, Boston has been incredibly consistent, averaging a double-double overall (13.0 ppg/11.7 rpg), in SEC play (13.3 ppg/12.3 rpg) and against ranked opponents (13.5 ppg/12.1 rpg). Her 12 double-doubles this season are 13th in the nation as is her rebounding average. She adds 2.9 blocks per game, ranking 12th in the nation, and contributes 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals as well.
Sophomore Zia Cooke graduated from the 2020 SEC All-Freshman Team to the All-SEC First Team this season as the Gamecocks’ leading scorer at 15.9 ppg. She has scored in double figures 20 times through 23 games, including four 20-point outings. Cooke is second on the team in assists, 2.2 per game, and is shooting 35.6 percent from 3-point range. She is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and on The Dawn Staley Award Midseason Watch List.
Junior point guard Destanni Henderson leads the SEC and ranks 25th in the nation with 5.3 assists per game on the season, including 5.6 per SEC outing – nearly a full assist per game more than the second-ranked player at 4.7. She is the Gamecocks’ third-leading scorer as 12.1 points per game and has been the team’s top scorer in six games. Henderson, who is on The Dawn Staley Award Midseason Watch List, also leads the Gamecocks in 3-point percentage at .418. It was the 2020 SEC Tournament where Henderson showed her potential, shooting 50.0 percent from the field for 13.0 points and 4.7 assists per game.
Senior LeLe Grissett has the most SEC Tournament experience on the Gamecock roster with seven games at the event, including two championships (2018, 2020). Last season, she poured in 7.7 points peer game on 61.1 percent shooting while averaging 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals.

BY THE NUMBERS

5.0 The average AP ranking of the opponents of Gamecocks’ four losses is 5.0 (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 14).

8 In her four-year career, senior LeLe Grissett has lost a combined eight SEC regular-season games.

16 Under Staley, 16 different Gamecocks have earned All-SEC honors at least once in their careers.

22.2 South Carolina averages 22.2 free throw attempts per game this season, ranking sixth in the nation in total free throw attempts (511).

35 South Carolina has been ranked in the AP top 10 for 35 straight weeks, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.