All-Columbia Battle Thursday at Mizzou

No. 1/1 South Carolina heads to the SEC’s western Columbia to take on Missouri on Thu., Jan. 11. The 8 p.m. ET tipoff will stream live on SEC Network+.

The Missouri Series
The Gamecocks are 9-4 all-time against the Tigers, including an 8-4 record since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012-13, with all four losses coming on the road.

South Carolina topped Mizzou 81-50 at home in their last meeting (Jan. 15, 2023), which included a breakout performance for then-freshman Ashlyn Watkins as she added 13 points and six rebounds in her 26 minutes on the court. The Gamecocks dominated the second and third quarters to improve to 6-0 in SEC play.

The Gamecocks’ last trip to Mizzou Arena (Dec. 30, 2021), yielded a 70-69 overtime win for the Tigers after a strong second quarter put then-No. 1/1 South Carolina on its heels for the remainder of the game.

By the Numbers
4 – Four Gamecocks average at least 11.0 points per game in SEC play.

+15.0 – The Gamecocks are outscoring SEC opponents in the paint by 15.0 points per game.

24.4 – With her 9.3 ppg and teammates scoring 12.6 ppg off her assists. Raven Johnson has her hands on 24.4 percent of the offense.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is the only team in the nation to rank among the top 20 in both scoring offense (5th, 90.4 ppg) and defense (8th, 52.1 ppg). The Gamecocks have hit those marks against a strength of schedule ranked 22nd in the nation. Their seven wins against NET top-50 teams and 10 against NET top-100 teams both lead the nation.

• The Gamecocks lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 41.9 percent, including 46.2 percent over the last five games. Three Gamecocks are shooting over 41.0 percent individually from beyond the arc – Te-Hina Paopao (.552, 2nd in NCAA), Bree Hall (.464), Raven Johnson (.414). The team’s 7.0 made 3s per game are the most in the Staley era.

• South Carolina’s glass work continues to be among the best in the nation, ranking second with 50.2 rebounds per game and fourth with a +16.0 rebounding margin.

• The Gamecocks’ bench ranks fourth in the nation in scoring with 34.2 points per game. The group’s 18.4 rebounds per game account for 39.9 percent of the team’s total.

• National player of the year candidate Kamilla Cardoso has posted a double-double in three straight games, lifting her to 17th in the nation with eight on the season. Her assist numbers have skyrocketed over the last five games (4.0 per game), including 3.5 per SEC outing to rank 13th in the league.

• Te-Hina Paopao not only ranks among the nation’s top 3-point shooters, but she is also a premier distributor. Her 3.9 assists per game are ninth in the SEC, and that number goes up to a team-best 4.5 per game in SEC play to rank fourth in the conference.

• Over the last five games, Bree Hall is the Gamecocks’ top scorer at 12.6 points per game on a team-best 65.7 percent shooting, including 63.2 percent accuracy.

SEC Sayings
South Carolina has been the benchmark in the SEC over the last decade, amassing seven regular-season titles since 2013-14 and finishing no lower than second in that time. Since that season, the Gamecocks have a 147-15 record (.907) in league action. Both the coaches and media picked South Carolina to finish second behind LSU this season.

The Gamecocks have also had a lock on the SEC Tournament, winning seven titles since claiming their first in 2015. They became the first program to win four consecutive tournaments, claiming the crowns 2015-18.

In the last decade, three Gamecocks have been named SEC Player of the Year a combined seven times, two have collected six SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, two have been the league’s Sixth-Woman of the Year, three have been the league Freshman of the Year, one has been the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Staley has been the Coach of the Year six times.

Quarter Breakdown
South Carolina‘s defense has held an opponent to single digits in a quarter 19 times this season. The Gamecocks have out-scored their opponent by 15 or more points in a quarter 16 times. The scoring differential is largest in the second quarter (+10.9).

The Gamecocks tied the program record for most points in a quarter, posting 37 in the third quarter against #14/11 Maryland (Nov. 12). They have scored at least 30 points in five other quarters this season.

Individually, five Gamecocks have scored double digits in a single quarter – Te-Hina Paopao (3), Kamilla Cardoso (1), MiLaysia Fulwiley (1), Raven Johnson (1), Sakima Walker (1). The top single-quarter individual scoring this season is 13 points by Cardoso in the third vs. #10/10 Notre Dame (Nov. 6).

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.

Dime Droppers
There are few things head coach Dawn Staley likes more than the extra pass. Long preaching that the ball will find who should shoot it, she has seen this year’s team bring that philosophy to life. The Gamecocks twice broke the program’s Staley-era record for single-game assists in the first three games of the season.

South Carolina has assisted on 57.2 percent of its made field goals this season. The Gamecocks are eighth in the country with an SEC-best 20.1 assists per game and are 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.47, also an SEC best.

Raven Johnson is 28th in the nation with 5.5 assists per game (3rd in SEC). Her 17 assists against Clemson (Nov. 16) were the second-most in program history, the most by an SEC player since 2005 and the most by any NCAA Div. I player this season. Her 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is 11th in the NCAA and second in the SEC.

Behind Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao is ninth in the SEC with 3.9 assists per game, and her 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is seventh. In SEC action, Paopao’s 4.5 assists per game lead the Gamecocks and are fourth in the SEC.

Senior center Kamilla Cardoso has been one of the Gamecocks’ primary distributors in SEC action, tied for second on the team and 13th in the SEC with 3.5 assists per game. She averages 2.5 assists for the season.