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Gamecocks in SEC Tournament Semis Saturday
Women's Basketball  . 

Gamecocks in SEC Tournament Semis Saturday

SEC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (28-1, 15-1) VS OLE MISS  (23-7, 10-6)
MARCH 5, 2022 |  5 PM ET |  NASHVILLE, TENN.  |  BRIDGESTONE ARENA

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • Tonight’s game will be the third between the Gamecocks and the Rebels in the last 38 days.
  • South Carolina has scored at least 70 points in five of its last six games.. Prior to this stretch, the Gamecocks needed 16 games to hit 70 points or more five times.  The defense did not waned in the six-game window, allowing just 50.7 points per game.
  • In Friday’s win over Arkansas, the Gamecock reserves poured in 34 points – nearly out-scoring the Razorbacks’ starters (37 points).
  • The Gamecocks have out-rebounded four of their last five opponents by double-digits for a +20.0 rebounding margin in that stretch. The only team to narrow the gap was Ole Miss on Feb. 27.
  • South Carolina is out-scoring opponents in the paint by 15.0 points per game (38.4-23.4).
  • The Gamecocks average 15.9 second-chance points per game on an SEC-best 16.5 offensive rebounds per game. Alternatively, opponents average 10.5 offensive boards and turn them into just 7.0 second-chance points per game.
  • National Player of the Year candidate Aliyah Boston had her full game on display in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals with 17 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals – all team highs. The effort extended her already extensive lead in win shares with her NCAA-leading 13.1 now 2.1 ahead of second place.
  • Since returning from helping Canada qualify for the 2022 FIBA World Cup five games ago, Laeticia Amihere has been impressive, averaging 7.6 points on 50.0 percent shooting to go with 4.2 rebounds per game averaging just 14.0 minutes in that period.
  • Freshman Bree Hall has been solid over the last three games, averaging 4.7 points on 50.0 percent shooting and 3.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes over the stretch.

BY THE NUMBERS

3 – Three Gamecocks average at least 6.0 rebounds over the last five games – Boston (12.4), Beal (6.8), Saxton (6.2)

8 – South Carolina has played in eight SEC Tournament semifinals with a 6-2 record in those games.

9 – Two of South Carolina’s three tallest players accounted for nine assists against Arkansas on Friday – Aliyah Boston 5, Laeticia Amihere 4.


NOTES

The Ole Miss Series
South Carolina leads the all-time series 27-17 after a 17-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). That record includes wins in the last 15 meetings, dating back to an overtime win in the first of two games in 2010-11. The Gamecocks are 2-4 against the Rebels in the SEC Tournament, although the last meeting between in the two at the event was in 2011.

In a pair of meetings this season, South Carolina posted a 69-40 victory in Columbia (Jan. 27) and a 71-57 win in Oxford (Feb. 27). Junior Aliyah Boston (18.5 ppg) and Destanni Henderson (15.0 ppg) led the offense across those two games with Boston adding 13.0 rebounds per game and Henderson handing out 4.5 assists per game in the stretch. Junior Brea Beal is next on the rebounding list with 7.0 boards per game against the Rebels to go with her 9.0 points per game.

The most recent matchup just seven days ago was a tight affair through three quarters before the Gamecocks’ depth and physicality took effect and limited the Rebels to just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Dominating Defense
South Carolina’s defense has been deceptively smothering throughout the season, leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (.326) and fourth in scoring defense (51.3). Yes, the Gamecocks lead the nation in blocked shots, but they are barely in the top 300 in steals per game and, for the season, have a -1.2 turnover margin. Neither stat tells the story of the relentless defensive effort, though.

As with most things, the Gamecocks are more fundamental than flashy as the defense is committed to the disruption of offensive flow, however, slight it may be. And, the method works. No team has reached its scoring average against the Gamecocks this season, including some of the SEC’s most prolific offenses, and only two came within single digits of it.

The SEC’s highest-scoring team, Arkansas at 74.9 points per game, scored just 52 at home against South Carolina and 54 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. LSU is second in the league, pouring in 74.1 points per game, but managed just 60 against the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge.

On a national stage, Maryland currently ranks eighth in NCAA with 79.0 points per game but scored just 59 on its trip to Columbia. Similarly, NC State is 17th at 76.9 points per game but netted just 57 at home against the Gamecocks.

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