Women's Basketball . December 2, 2021

Friday Night Big 12/SEC Challenge Matchup for Women's Hoops

#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (8-0) VS. KANSAS STATE (7-1)
DECEMBER 3, 2021 | 7 P.M. ET | COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (18,000)

GAME DAY PARKING NOTES

Please note that an event at the nearby Koger Center Friday night will affect traffic and parking in the area of Colonial Life Arena.
Fans are encouraged to park in Pendleton Street Garage for $10 per car and ride the shuttle to and from Colonial Life Arena to avoid traffic.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

Tonight’s game is part of the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge taking place on campus sits throughout the weekend. South Carolina has been part of the series three times prior to this season with a 2-1 record. While the Challenge began in 2014, the Gamecocks’ debut came in 2016 when it expanded to the current 10-game format. South Carolina has won both its road games in the series (at Texas, 12/1/16; at Iowa State 12/6/21) but lost its lone home game (Baylor, 12/2/18).
The Gamecocks are fifth in the nation with an SEC-best .492 field goal percentage. South Carolina has shot over 50.0 percent in two games this season (vs. Buffalo, Elon). Aliyah Boston leads the effort, ranking 22nd in the nation with 60.9 percent shooting.
South Carolina’s rebounding dominance has them ranked second in the nation in rebounding margin (+17.9). The Gamecocks lead the SEC in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, collecting 44.8 percent of their own missed shots and 76.5 percent of their opponents’ misses.
The Gamecocks have scored 38.5 points in the paint per game this season on 59.7 percent shooting and have outscored opponents by 17.2 points per game in that space. Post players average 26.5 points in the paint with a season-high 38 of the team’s 46 such points against NC A&T (Nov. 29).
Junior forward Aliyah Boston again caught the attention of the nation early in the season with her perfect shooting night against NC A&T (Nov. 29). Her 13-of-13 outing was the best perfect game in program history and a more productive perfect game (14 or more field goals) has only been posted eight teams in NCAA Div. I history. Boston’s night included one 3-pointer and was paired with 2-of-2 free throw shooting as well.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 – Six Gamecocks are shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field this season, with guards Beal and Russell joining four post players.

9 – Zia Cooke is nine points from 1,000 in her career. If achieved tonight, she would be the 11th fastest Gamecock to that number (73 gms).

14.8 – The Gamecocks average 14.8 2nd-chance points off 14.1 offensive rebs. per game while allowing just 6.4 2nd-chance points per game.

NOTES

The Kansas State Series
South Carolina leads the overall series against Kansas State 2-1 with just one of those games coming in the Dawn Staley era after the teams met twice in the early 1980s.

The most recent meeting came in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament (Mar. 20). The Gamecocks posted a commanding 73-47 victory at Colonial Life Arena.

Schedule Strength
Having already played three games against teams in this week’s AP or USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll, South Carolina is second in the nation, trailing the four games played by Stanford and South Florida. South Carolina, Maryland and South Florida each have faced three top-10 teams with the Gamecocks’ 3-0 record in those games edging USF’s 2-2 mark and Maryland’s 1-2 slate.

South Carolina’s 12 scheduled games against teams in either the AP or USA Today/WBCA Poll this week are the most in the country.

Quarter Breakdown
South Carolina’s defense has held an opponent to single digits in a quarter nine times so far this season, including three second quarters and three fourth quarters as the Gamecocks’ constant pressure wears opponents down. The scoring differential is largest in the fourth quarter with South Carolina out-scoring opponents by 7.6 points per final period.

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.

This season, the Gamecocks average 38.5 points in the paint, accounting for 50.2 percent of their total offense, shooting 59.7 percent in that space. Post players have been the dominant scorers in the paint, accounting for 68.8 percent of the paint points with 26.5 such points per game.

Defensively, the Gamecocks have protected the paint, yielding just 21.3 points per game in that space.