Women's Basketball . December 4, 2024

Gamecocks Host Late Night Top-10 Matchup Thursday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 3/4 South Carolina hosts No. 8/9 Duke Thursday night at 9 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena, which the Gamecocks have turned into a pajama party with a purpose, encouraging fans to bring blankets to donate at the door and teddy bears to toss at halftime.

Fan Information

With the late tipoff, the Gamecocks invite fans to dress in their comfy, but appropriate, pajamas.
Fans have two options to give this holiday season
- Bring a new blanket to donate at the door, and the Gamecocks will get them to local shelters.
- Bring a new teddy bear (unboxed, no battery packs please!) to toss onto the court at halftime, and the Gamecocks will distribute them to various hospitals and other charities.
Single-game parking in lots immediately around Colonial Life Arena will be $20 per car as mandated by the University.
All doors at Colonial Life Arena will open at 8 p.m. The Fast Break Pass entrance will open at 7:30 p.m.
The first Chalk Talk presented by Atkins Law will begin at 7:45 p.m. Season ticket holders who would like to attend (max. 300) can enter the arena via the College Street entrance at 7:30 p.m.

Gamecock Notables

Tonight’s game marks the Gamecocks’ second appearance in the ACC/SEC Challenge. In the inaugural event last season, South Carolina topped #24 North Carolina 65-58 in Chapel Hill (Nov. 30, 2023).
South Carolina is playing its fourth ranked opponent of the season, and the Gamecocks’ schedule includes 14 games against teams ranked this week or at the time of the game. Seven of those games are against non-conference foes.
The Gamecock bench is notable for more than just its scoring (see below). The group also accounts for 20.4 rebounds per game, which is 47.8 percent of the team’s total. Two of the team’s top three rebounders come off the bench – Ashlyn Watkins (6.3) and Joyce Edwards (6.1). The duo also is the team’s top two in steals and among the top three in blocks.
Since returning from injury at Clemson, sophomore Tessa Johnson has been on an offensive tear, leading the team with 10.5 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting that includes 57.1 percent accuracy from 3-point range in that stretch. In the last three games, including two against ranked opponents, she averaged 11.3 points.
Joyce Edwards earned SEC co-Freshman of the Week honors this week after leading the team with 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game at the Fort Myers Tip-Off last weekend. The forward was building to the moment, which included her first career double-double (vs. #15/15 Iowa State), averaging 10.0 points over the last five games on 50.0 percent shooting in that stretch. Her 3.13 offensive rebounds per game on the season rank 12th in the SEC.
Freshman Maddy McDaniel is second in the nation with a 7.00 assist-to-turnover ratio that includes four games of at least four assists and three turnover-free games.
Senior Te-Hina Paopao remains the Gamecocks’ top scorer at 12.0 points per game and is 15th in the SEC with 49.4 percent shooting. She also continues to show her value and skills beyond scoring. She applied full-court defensive pressure in the Gamecocks’ domination of #15/15 Iowa State, and her 2.9 assists per game are second on the team.
Sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley shook off a pair of tough shooting games to pour in 14 points on 45.5 percent shooting against Purdue (Nov. 30)

By the Numbers
3 – Tonight is just the Gamecocks’ third home game of the season, making it the latest third home game since the 2015-16 season.

40.6 – South Carolina’s bench is second in the nation with 40.6 points per game, accounting for 50.8 percent of the total offense.

.458 – The Gamecocks are sixth in the country with a .458 offensive rebounding percentage.

The Duke Series
The Gamecocks are 7-2 all-time against Duke, including a 6-1 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09).

South Carolina has won the last four meetings overall and the last four in which both teams have been nationally ranked. The two teams have met three times in Colonial Life Arena with all three going to the Gamecocks.

In last season’s meeting in Durham (Dec. 3), South Carolina used dominant second and fourth quarters to rally back for a 77-61 victory. The Blue Devils tied the game at 55-55 with 7:43 to play before 22-6 run closed the game.

Home Sweet Home
The Gamecocks are 532-166 (.761) in home games (some records prior to 1976-77 did not include location of games). Current head coach Dawn Staley is 220-34 at home for a program-best .866 winning percentage.

South Carolina currently has a program-record 61-game home winning streak that began on Dec. 17, 2020.

Playing in its 22nd season at Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina boasts a 282-67 (.808) record in the building, including four undefeated seasons since 2013-14. Staley’s share of that record is 217-34 (.864).

Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint, and this season’s numbers have upheld that tradition.

With 55.3 percent of their points coming in the paint, the Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents in that space 44.3 to 21.2 (+23.0) for the season, including by +13.3 points per game against ranked opponents (36.7-23.3). They are shooting 51.2 percent in the paint compared to opponents’ 37.9 percent accuracy in the space.

Last season, South Carolina averaged 45.6 points in the paint to account for 53.3 percent of its offense.

The Full-wiley
The generational talent that is sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley wow-ed fans last season with her creativity and athleticism. This season, the extremely coach-able guard is learning the art of steadying her play between the “wow” moments.

Fulwiley earned SEC All-Freshman honors last season and was the SEC Tournament MVP after a phenomenal title game that saw her net a career-high 24 points against #8/5 LSU. She finished the season second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting.

This season Fulwiley is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent. Her four double-figure scoring games are second on the team.