Gamecocks Trek to Sioux Falls for Thursday Contest

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 1/1 South Carolina leaves Columbia for the first and only time in the month of December, heading to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on South Dakota State on Thursday night on ESPN2. Tipoff at the Sanford Pentagon is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina’s six post players have accounted for 57.6 percent of its total offense (47.8 ppg) and the unit is shooting a combined 58.8 percent from the field (173-of-294). Four of the Gamecocks’ top five scorers are post players.

• Gamecock guards are regularly in the action in the paint as well, scoring 15.3 of their total 27.9 points per game at close range.

• South Carolina’s defense is annually among the best in the nation, and the current Gamecocks have not faltered in that effort, leading the nation in scoring defense (46.7), field goal percentage defense (.278) and blocks per game (9.8). 

• Don’t sleep on the Gamecock offense, though. South Carolina’s .482 field goal percentage is 12th in the nation and the scoring offense is 15th at 83.0 points per game.

• Reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston leads all active NCAA player (all divisions) in career rebounds (1,212) and double-doubles (66). Her 271 career blocked shots are third.

• Senior guard Zia Cooke leads the offense with 13.4 points per game, including 14.3 points per game against ranked opponents. She is shooting a career-best 39.6 percent from the field and is third on the team in assists.

• Junior Kamilla Cardoso has been the punch off the bench head coach Dawn Staley enjoys. With a renewed desire to assert her dominance in games, Cardoso is the Gamecocks’ third-leading scorer at 10.0 points per game on 66.0 percent shooting. She is eighth in the SEC in rebounding (7.8). Third in the league in offensive boards (3.5), she scores a field goal or free throw on 46.4 percent of her offensive boards, accounting for 3.3 points per game – a number that stays the same against ranked opponents.

By the Numbers

4 – Aliyah Boston needs four offensive rebounds to join Marsha Williams (1990-93) in second place (career) in program history.

8.0 – According to Synergy, Brea Beal has allowed her primary guard to score just 8.0 points per game on 21.3 percent shooting this season.

+31.1 – South Carolina has outscored its opponents in the paint by 31.1 points per game this season (50.4-19.3).

The South Dakota State Series
The Gamecocks and Jackrabbits have met once before tonight, facing off in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The No. 4 seed in the Norfolk Region that year, 17th-ranked South Carolina posted a 74-52 win over South Dakota State in Boulder, Colo., on Mar. 23, 2013.

Neutral Stance
The Gamecocks are 154-95 (.618) all-time on a neutral court. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is 71-27 in games played at neutral sites (.724), including a 27-10 (.730) mark in regular-season games.