Women's Hoops Hosts Elon Friday Afternoon

#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (6-0) VS. ELON (4-0)
NOVEMBER 26, 2021 |  3 P.M. ET |  COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (18,000)

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• Today’s head coaches Dawn Staley and Charlotte Smith spent six seasons as teammates on the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting after battling as ACC rivals for one season (1991-92) while playing for Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, .
• South Carolina is coming off a title run at the Bad Boy Mowers’ Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis. The Gamecocks claimed the title in the inaugural version of the tournament with two double-digit wins over top-10 opponents among their three wins.
• The Gamecocks’ 6-0 record is the most impressive in the country as it includes three wins over top-10 opponents and just one home game so far.
• South Carolina’s defense has garnered a lot of attention early this season, and rightfully so with just one opponent scoring more than 60 points – and that one only got to 63. The effort has held an opponent to a single-digit scoring quarter five times.
• The Gamecock offense has been exceptionally efficient so far this season, ranking 15th in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 49.1 percent from the field. That number includes 50.3 percent shooting in last weekend’s Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Junior Aliyah Boston was named Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis MVP after rising to her coach’s challenge to be a dominant force every minute she’s on the court. The National Player of the Year candidate averaged 20.3 points and 10.0 rebounds and shot 56.5 percent from the field at the event.
• Junior Zia Cooke earned a spot on the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament team with 13.7 points per game on 53.6 percent while handing out 3.7 assists per game shooting at the event. Her scoring average was skewed by a slow start against Buffalo. In the Gamecocks’ last two games of the tournament, Cooke poured in 18.5 points per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
6.7 – Kamilla Cardoso averaged 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis, shooting 60.0 percent at the event.

28 – Zia Cooke needs 28 points to reach 1,000 in her career.

30 – The Gamecocks earned all 30 first-place votes in this week’s AP Poll. They also picked up 31 of the 32 first-place votes in the coaches’ poll.

NOTES

The Elon Series
The South Carolina-Elon series is tied 2-2 with the Gamecocks winning the only two played in the NCAA era, both coming in the Dawn Staley era.

South Carolina won the most recent meeting – a 78-63 decision on Dec. 22, 2015, in Columbia when the Gamecocks were ranked #2/2 in the country.

Home Sweet Home
The Gamecocks are 480-165 (.744) all-time in home games, including a 168-34 mark under head coach Dawn Staley. Her .832 winning percentage at home is second among the program’s seven all-time head coaches (Pam Parsons (41-7) .854).

Playing in its 19th season at Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina boasts a 231-67 (.775) record in the building, including three undefeated seasons since 2013-14. Staley’s share of that record is 165-34 (.829).
 

Schedule Strength
With three games against teams in this week’s AP and/or USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll, South Carolina is tied with USF for the most in the country. The Gamecocks are the only team to play three top-10 teams already this season.

South Carolina’s 12 games against teams in either the AP or USA Today/WBCA Preseason Poll are tied with Stanford for the most in the country.  The Gamecocks’ six games against preseason top-10 teams are one behind Maryland’s seven.

Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint on both ends of the court. This season Staley has challenged her team to be more efficient in the paint as well, especially in transition.

Through six games, the Gamecocks average 37.0 points in the paint, accounting for 48.9 percent of their total offense, shooting 60.7 percent in that space. Post players have been the dominant scorers in the paint, accounting for 64.9 percent of the paint points with 24.0 such points per game.