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No. 2/2 Gamecocks Host New SEC Rival Oklahoma Sunday
Women's Basketball  . 

No. 2/2 Gamecocks Host New SEC Rival Oklahoma Sunday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 2/2 South Carolina welcomes new SEC rival No. 13/13 Oklahoma to Colonial Life Arena on Sun., Jan. 19, for a 3 p.m. tipoff on ESPN.

Fan Information

  • A free fan parking shuttle from Founders Park (431 Williams Street) has been added for this game. Parking and the shuttle from the Lot 1 are free. The shuttle will run from 1:30 p.m. until one hour after the game. The arena dropoff/pickup location will be at the corner of Devine and Lincoln Streets.
  • 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 2 p.m. The Fast Break Pass entrance will open at 1:30 p.m.
  • This is another Chalk Talk presented by Atkins Law game. Season ticket holders who would like to attend (max. 300) can enter the arena via the College Street entrance at 1:30 p.m. and must proceed directly to the McGuire Club.
  • Sunday’s game is part of the SEC’s “We Back Pat” week, bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation, and its fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina sits atop the NET rankings behind seven Quad 1 wins. The Gamecocks lead the nation with six wins over ranked opponents, against whom they have a +16.9 scoring margin. Ranked foes have scored just 57.1 points per game on 35.7 percent shooting.

  • The Gamecock defense has smothered SEC opponents so far this season, leading the league in scoring defense (55.4 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.327) and blocks per game (6.4). South Carolina also paces the conference with a +26.8 scoring margin, .840 free throw percentage and 44.0 rebounds per game in league play.

  • South Carolina has gotten off to quick starts over the last three games, bucking its season trend of waiting for the second quarter to stamp its authority on a game. Over the last three outings, the Gamecocks have won the first quarter by an average of 11.0 points thanks to 56.1 percent shooting and a defense effort that allowed just 22.6 percent accuracy.

  • Freshman Joyce Edwards is making an early run at first-year SEC honors as the Gamecocks’ top scorer at 11.8 points per game on 55.0 percent shooting. She has scored in double figures each of the last four games and seven of her last eight, including a pair of 20-point outings. Her career-high 21 points at #19/19 Alabama on Thursday included nine during the fourth quarter after the Tide had cut the margin to five points.

  • Senior forward Sania Feagin has stuffed the stat sheet over the last three games, which included a pair of ranked opponents. She averaged 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists and shot 72.2 percent over that stretch.

  • National Player of the Year candidate Te-Hina Paopao’s impact on the Gamecocks’ success goes beyond her scoring, which includes a team-high 13.1 points per game against ranked opponents. Her 50 assists lead the team and have led to 6.7 points per game, meaning the fifth-year senior has her hands on 23.3 percent of the Gamecocks’ offense.

  • Junior Chloe Kitts continues her relentless rebounding, leading the team on the glass a team-high eight times to rank 10th in the league with 7.65 boards per game. With a pair of double-doubles in the last four games, she has grabbed 9.0 rebounds per game over that stretch.

 

By the Numbers
3 – MiLaysia Fulwiley has scored at least 16 points in three of five SEC games this season for  13.4 points per league game.

5 – Five Gamecocks average at least 10.0 points in SEC play, including three who come off the bench.

9 – South Carolina is ninth in the nation in rebounding average (43.9) and rebounding margin (+11.1).

 

The Oklahoma Series
The Gamecocks are 0-3 all-time against the Sooners, although just one of those games has been in the 17 seasons of the Dawn Staley era at South Carolina.

In that outing, then-No. 20 Oklahoma posted a 75-67 win over the unranked Gamecocks on Nov. 26, 2009, in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, USVI. The Sooners won the first game in the series and their only visit to Colonial Life Arena, topping South Carolina 78-51 on Dec. 7, 2006, while ranked No. 3 in the nation.

 

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 166-15 record (.917) in league action, including an 82-3 mark (.965) since 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 52, which ranks seventh in NCAA history for conference win streaks (6th is UConn, 57).

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.

 

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

With 51.3 percent of their points coming in the paint, the Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents in that space 41.9 to 24.7 (+17.2) for the season, including by +9.4 points per game against ranked opponents (36.6-27.1). They are shooting 53.9 percent in the paint compared to opponents’ 38.3 percent accuracy in the space.

 

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 of 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 11.0 points per game, including a 13.4 average in SEC action. She has two 20-point scoring games, including 20 against #9/13 TCU (Dec. 8), and she has been the team’s top scorer four times.

Fulwiley is beginning to embrace her ability to impact the game on the defensive end as well, ranking ninth in the SEC with 1.20 blocks per league game and swiping 1.4 steals per SEC contest.