Senior Day Sunday vs. Tennessee on ABC
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (24-1, 12-1) VS. #12/8 TENNESSEE (21-5, 10-3)
FEBRUARY 20, 2022 | 1 P.M. ET | COLUMBIA, S.C. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (18,000)
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- College GameDay is on site at a women’s basketball game for the first time in 11 years and just the third time in the show’s history. South Carolina joins UConn and Tennessee as the only hosts of the program.
- South Carolina will celebrate Senior Day, honoring four of the five Gamecocks wrapping up their careers as LeLe Grissett had her ceremony last season before choosing to return for another campaign. Destiny Littleton, Elysa Wesolek, Victaria Saxton and Destanni Henderson will be honored, along with three of the team’s practice players and two managers in a ceremony prior to the game.
- South Carolina leads the SEC in offensive (.451) and defensive (.754) rebounding percentage. The combination has the Gamecocks out-scoring their opponents in second-chance points 16.1-7.0. Those numbers are slightly closer in the 10 games against ranked opponents (14.6-8.5).
- Deeper analytics by HerHoopStats.com show National Player of the Year candidate Aliyah Boston is head and shoulders above the field in total contributions to her team. The junior forward leads the nation in Win Share at 11.3 and is the only player to rank in the top 10 of both offensive (8th, 131.1) and defensive (2nd, 62.7) rating, a stat that estimates the number of points produced or allowed by a player per 100 total individual possessions)
- Senior Victaria Saxton entered SEC play averaging 4.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. In 13 SEC games, those numbers skyrocket to 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Saxton is the only Gamecock whose offensive rebounds (77) out-number her defensive boards (57). A two-year starter, Saxton is ninth in program history in career offensive rebounds (260) and seventh in blocked shots (161).
BY THE NUMBERS
12 – Dawn Staley is 12th in winning percentage among active Div. I coaches with at least 10 years of experience.
14 – The Gamecocks lead the nation with 14 wins over NET top 50 teams.
54.6 – South Carolina is shooting 54.6 percent within six feet from the basket, compared to the SEC average 48.3 percent.
NOTES
The Auburn Series
The Gamecocks lead the overall series 26-21, including wins in the last 11 meetings and a 14-3 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). South Carolina is 14-7 against Auburn in Columbia.
In the most recent meeting, the Gamecocks posted a 77-58 win in Auburn on Feb. 4, 2021. Four Gamecocks scored in double figures, including LeLe Grissett off the bench. South Carolina out-rebounded the Tigers 51-29 in that game and held Auburn to just six points in the first quarter.
In Auburn’s last trip to Colonial Life Arena, then-#1/1 South Carolina claimed a 79-53 decision on Feb. 13, 2020. The Gamecock offense was on fire in the second (.583) and third (.688) quarters.
Home Sweet Home
The Gamecocks are 492-165 (.749) all-time in home games, including a 180-34 mark under head coach Dawn Staley. That .841 winning percentage is second among the program’s all-time head coaches (Pam Parsons (41-7) .854).
Playing in its 19th season at Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina boasts a 243-67 (.784) record in the building, including three undefeated seasons since 2013-14. Staley’s share of that record is 177-34 (.839).
Schedule Strength
South Carolina leads the country with 10 games against nationally ranked teams, seven of which were in the AP top 15 at the time of the game. Wins in all 10 of those games have the Gamecocks atop the NET rankings as well.
The Gamecocks’ non-conference schedule is rated third-toughest in the country and preceded an SEC slate that includes four games against conference rivals in this week’s national rankings.
South Carolina has 14 wins against NET top-50 teams, the most of any team this season.
All-Everything Aliyah Boston
From her career debut triple-double to becoming the only 2021 finalist for both the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, junior Aliyah Boston has spent two seasons on the national stage. In her third campaign, she is poised to rise to the top step.
Boston entered her third season as a two-time All-American and two-time Lisa Leslie Center Award winner. She averages a double-double for her career (14.2 ppg/10.8 rpg) while her 48 career double-doubles leads active SEC players, ranks fifth among Div. I active players and is fourth in program history. In 38 career games against ranked opponents, her averages rise to 14.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg.
Boston is USA Today’s Preseason Player of the Year and a unanimous First-Team All-American. Dropping over 20 pounds since the start of her sophomore season, Boston was all about basketball this summer, helping the U.S. to gold at the FIBA AmeriCup and spending time training with NBA legend Tim Duncan.
Henny-thing Goes
Senior point guard Destanni Henderson is coming into her own in her final collegiate season, proving that trust in the process works. Entering the program as the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2018, she waited her turn to step in to the starting role – even accepting a star bench position as a sophomore instead of clamoring for a starting role at another guard spot.
In two seasons as the starting point guard, Henderson is handing out 4.7 assists per game, including 27 games with five or more, and has a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her 11.8 points per game in that time includes 41.2 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The increased scoring as a starter helped Henderson join the 1,000-point club at Arkansas on Jan. 14.
