No. 1 Gamecocks Host Tigers Thursday

No. 1/1 South Carolina hosts Missouri in a Thursday night tilt with tipoff at Colonial Life Arena set for 7 p.m. with the game airing on SEC Network.

Fan Information

• Doors will open at 6 p.m. with fans encouraged to come early to meet other Gamecock women’s teams on the concourse as the Athletics Department celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The Missouri Series
The Gamecocks are 10-4 all-time against the Tigers, including a 9-4 record since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012-13, with all four losses coming on the road.

In the first meeting earlier this season, South Carolina used a dominant second quarter to push out a 13-point halftime lead and didn’t look back in its 81-57 victory. Five Gamecocks scored in double figures, led by Bree Hall’s 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

By the Numbers
+11.9 – South Carolina is scoring 11.9 more points off turnovers per game than its opponents this season.

19.2 – The Gamecocks are 11th in the nation with 19.2 assists per game

37.1 – South Carolina’s opponents are shooting just 37.1 percent in the paint this season, compared to the Gamecocks’ 59.9 percent.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is third in the nation in scoring offense at 89.1 points per game, and comes from a balanced attack. No individual Gamecock ranks among the NCAA’s top 250 players, but four average double-figures with three more averaging at least 9.0.

• The Gamecocks lead the nation in blocks per game (8.5), and they lead the SEC in blocks per conference game (7.1).

• South Carolina’s 16.4 second-chance points per game have come on 13.6 offensive rebounds per game (1.2 points per offensive rebound).

• The Gamecocks are without National Player of the Year candidate Kamilla Cardoso for tonight’s game. She is one of three current or former Gamecocks with their national teams at Olympic Qualifying Tournaments this week. Cardoso (Brazil) is playing in her home country; Laeticia Amihere (Canada) is in Hungary; and Aliyah Boston (USA) is in Belgium.

• Raven Johnson is second in the nation with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. That number is boosted by her last three games, during which she posted 19 assists to just three turnovers (6.3 A:TO).

• Sophomore Ashlyn Watkins has been dominant over the last three games with 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. She has shot 85.4 percent from the field and seen her minutes in crease to 26.3 per game in that stretch.

• Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley has always been the tip of the spear for the bench production, but her game has elevated again over the last six games with 13.7 points per game.

• Junior Sania Feagin’s production has gone up over the last five games. The forward’s extra work has yielded more consistent play as she has scored 8.8 points per game on 80.0 percent shooting since starting the streak with 15 points at Texas A&M (Jan. 21).

A Perennial Power
South Carolina women’s basketball had been a national power for more than a decade under head coach Dawn Staley,  including six 30-win seasons in the last nine campaigns. The Gamecocks have played in five Final Fours in the last eight NCAA Tournaments, including winning the 2017 and 2022 National Championships. They have been ranked in every AP Poll since Dec. 10, 2012, including a top-10 spot every week since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Gamecocks have amassed 76 AP No. 1 rankings all-time,  the fourth-most by a program in the history of that poll (3rd is La. Tech, 83).

Under head coach Dawn Staley’s leadership, nine Gamecocks have earned All-America status, three have earned SEC Player of the Year honors and 19 have picked up All-SEC recognition at least once. In the last nine seasons, 14 Gamecocks have been selected in the WNBA Draft, including 10 first-round picks, highlighted by two No. 1 overall picks in the last six years. Three Gamecocks have been named WNBA Rookie of the Year and one is a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Opponent Files
South Carolina’s regular-season schedule includes six games against teams ranked at the time of the game or in at least one of the two national polls this week, including five in non-conference action. Four of those games came in the first five weeks of the season – against #10/10 Notre Dame (W, 100-71),  #14/11 Maryland (W, 114-76), at #24/24 North Carolina (W, 65-58), against #11/7 Utah (78-69). South Carolina later added a win at SEC rival #9/9 LSU (W, 76-70).

The Gamecocks’  schedule is ranked the 25th toughest in the nation with opponents posting a .630 winning percentage. South Carolina’s NET non-conference strength of schedule is 12th, and its average opponent NET ranking is 21st. The Gamecocks’ nine wins against NET top-50 teams are tied for the most in the country.

Looking ahead, South Carolina has one more game against a team currently ranked in both national polls – against #11/9 UConn (Feb. 11).

Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint, and this season’s numbers have upheld that tradition, despite all the attention to the Gamecocks’ 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, and seven other games have included at least half the total points coming in the paint.

The Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents in the paint 49.1 to 23.1 (+26.0) for the season and by +22.9 points per game in SEC action (48.9-26.0). They are shooting 59.9 percent in the paint compared to opponents’ 37.1 percent accuracy inside. The Gamecocks have scored 55.2 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.