Spend Black Friday with Women's Hoops

In the final game of a four-game homestand, No. 1/1 South Carolina hosts Mississippi Valley State on Fri., Nov. 24, at 1 p.m.

Fan Info
The game will be packed with enter-to-win contests for electronics, courtside seats, access to a shoot around and more!

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $8 if you show your ticket to Saturday’s South Carolina-Clemson football game.

The Mississippi Valley State Series
Today is the first meeting between the Gamecocks and Devilettes. South Carolina has played four other SWAC teams with a 7-0 record all-time against the league – Alabama A&M (2-0), Alabama State (3-0), Alcorn State (1-0), Jackson State (1-0).

By the Numbers

2 – Mississippi Valley State is the first of two HBCUs on the Gamecocks’ schedule this season.

5 – South Carolina has five players averaging double-figure points, including two off the bench.

9 – Nine Gamecocks are playing at least 15 minutes per game with only four averaging more than 20 minutes.

Gamecock Notables

• A win today would be the Gamecocks’ 45th straight at home, matching the program record for consecutive home victories (2/24/13-2/4/16).

• South Carolina is among the nation’s top five in blocked shots (1st, 11.8 bpg), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.4), rebounding (2nd, 53.3 rpg), scoring (3rd, 100.3 ppg), scoring margin (3rd, +44.0), assists (3rd, 26.3) and offensive rebounding (5th, 20.2 rpg).

• The Gamecocks continue to build their success inside, averaging 60.5 points in the paint per game on 61.4 percent accuracy in that space. They own the space defensively as well, allowing just 25.0 points in the paint per game on 35.5 percent shooting.

• The nation’s top shot blocking team, South Carolina blocks 11.8 shots per game and 23.7 percent of its opponents 2-point field goal attempts.

• A pair of Gamecocks are atop the national block rankings with sophomore Ashlyn Watkins pacing the country with 4.0 blocks per game and senior Kamilla Cardoso’s 3.5 per game just behind in second place.

• National Player of the Year candidate Kamilla Cardoso shapes the game on both ends of the court. In addition to her blocking stats, she averages a double-double with 17.5 points per game (8th in SEC) and 11.2 rebounds per game (3rd in SEC). Her three double-doubles on the season are seventh-best in the country and her .667 field goal percentage is 22nd.

• Sophomore Raven Johnson turned in a milestone week to grab SEC co-Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. Her 17 assists against Clemson (Nov. 16) were the most in the NCAA this season and the most in the SEC since 2005, and she poured in a career-best 18 points against South Dakota State (Nov. 20).

• Despite a shorter bench, South Carolina is sixth in the country with an SEC-best 41.5 bench points per game. Fulwiley leads the group at 14.5 ppg.

Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint, and this season’s numbers have not fallen off from that tradition, despite all the attention to its 3-point shooting. The season kicked off with 70 of the team’s 100 points against #10/10 Notre Dame (Nov. 6) coming in the paint.

The Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents in the paint 60.5 to 25.0. They are shooting 61.4 percent in the paint compared to opponents’ 35.5 percent accuracy inside. So far this season, the Gamecocks have scored 60.3 percent of their points in the paint.

Last season, South Carolina averaged 43.8 points in the paint to account for 54.6 percent of its offense.

Glass Cleaners
The Gamecocks continue to have a dominant rebounding effort, ranking second in the nation with and SEC-best 56.25 rebounds per game, Their offensive glass work is equally strong, ranking fifth in the country with an SEC-best 20.2 offensive boards per outing. According to Her Hoop Stats, South Carolina is 11th in the nation in rebounding percentage, securing 72.0 percent of the rebound opportunities actually rebounded.

Four Gamecocks average at least 5.5 rebounds per game, led by Kamilla Cardoso’s 11.3 average, which ranks 16th in the nation and third in the SEC. Ashlyn Watkins is next in line at 7.8 per game. Both are tied for the team lead on the offensive glass with 16 each. Sania Feagin and Chloe Kitts round out the quartet with 5.5 per game. Three guards are next on the list with 4.0 boards per game.

Everybody’s All-American
The Gamecocks’ 11-woman roster includes eight McDonald’s All-Americans – Kamilla Cardoso, Sania Feagin, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao and Ashlyn Watkins.

At South Carolina, Staley has coached 23 McDonald’s All-Americans, including 18 who joined the Gamecocks as freshmen.