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Gamecocks Open SEC Action at Mizzou Thursday
Women's Basketball  . 

Gamecocks Open SEC Action at Mizzou Thursday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 2/2 South Carolina opens its 34th season of SEC play Thursday at Missouri. Tipoff at Mizzou Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Gamecock Notables

  • Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 11-5 in SEC openers, including wins in nine of the last 10.

  • The Gamecocks’ improved ball movement has led to 61.9 percent of field goals being assisted over the last four games with 19.5 assists per game. In that time 6.0 assists per game have come from post players.

  • Seven Gamecocks average at least 7.0 points this season – a number that rises to eight over the last five games.

  • All-America guard Te-Hina Paopao continues to lead the Gamecock offense with her 11.4 points per game on a career-best 48.4 percent shooting. The notorious long-range shooter has diversified her offense this season, averaging 4.5 points from 3-point range, 4.5 from the paint and 2.2 from mid-range.

  • Freshman Joyce Edwards is second on the team with 11.0 points per game thanks to pouring in 17.0 points per game over the last three outings, including her first career 20-point game. Edwards leads the Gamecocks with four games as the team’s top scorer, and her eight double-figure scoring games are also tied for the team lead.

  • Junior Ashlyn Watkins is 32nd in the NCAA with 2.00 blocks per game, including a 3.0 average over the last five games. The career shot blocker is just three blocks away from the program’s career top-10 list just 13 games into her junior season. Watkins’ offense has been warming up as well lately, averaging 8.0 points on 78.6 percent shooting over the last three games.

  • Redshirt-junior guard Raven Johnson has settled into the offense of late, averaging 8.2 points on 54.8 percent shooting, including 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range, over the last five contests.

  • Junior Chloe Kitts is posting career-best numbers this season – while playing slightly fewer minutes than last season – with 9.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

  • Senior forward Sania Feagin is also having a career season with her 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, including averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last three games.

 

By the Numbers
+9.1 – South Carolina has out-scored its opponents by an average of 9.1 points in the second quarter – its best margin of any quarter.

51.3 – The Gamecocks are getting 51.3 percent of their points from the bench (an NCAA-best 41.8 ppg).

96.3 – In the last five seasons, South Carolina has won 96.3 percent of its SEC regular-season games (77-3).

 

The Missouri Series
The Gamecocks are 11-4 all-time against the Tigers, including a 10-4 mark since Missouri joined the SEC. All four losses have come in Mizzou Arena, but South Carolina won the last game there 81-57 on Jan. 11, 2024.

The Gamecocks and Tigers met twice last season with South Carolina winning both by an average of 31.0 points to extend its win streak over Missouri to three. It was the Gamecock guards that did a majority of the damage last season with Bree Hall averaging 15.5 points and Te-Hina Paopao adding 10.5. Forward Sania Feagin was solid with 10.5 points per game against the Tigers last season too.

 

SEC Sayings
Picked by league coaches to win its fourth-straight SEC title this season, South Carolina has been the benchmark in the league over the last decade, amassing eight regular-season titles since 2013-14 (11 seasons) and finishing no lower than second in that time. Since that season, the Gamecocks have a 161-15 record (.914) in league action, including a 77-3 mark (.963) over the last five seasons (beginning 2019-20). South Carolina set a new SEC record with its 43rd-consecutive league victory with its win over Georgia on Feb. 18. The streak spans three seasons beginning on Jan. 2, 2022, with a win over Mississippi State and now stands at 47, which ranks 10th in NCAA history for conference win streaks

The Gamecocks have also had a lock on the SEC Tournament, winning eight 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, three have collected seven SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, two have been the league’s 6th-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 seven times – one shy of Pat Summitt’s league-record eight selections.

 

Block Party
South Carolina annually ranks among the best shot blocking teams in the country, and with 12 of 13 Gamecocks recording at least one block this season, they are continuing the tradition. Even without a dominant center, the Gamecocks are 11th in the nation with 5.8 blocks per game, including a combined 12 by the three shortest players on the team – Raven Johnson (8), Maddie McDaniel (1) and Te-Hina Paopao (3).

Ashlyn Watkins is 32nd in the nation (4th in SEC) with 2.0 blocks per game, including 3.0 per game over the last five outings.

 

The Ful-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 10.1 points per game while shooting 41.6 percent from the field. She has two 20-point scoring games, including 20 against #9/13 TCU (Dec. 8).

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