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Gamecocks Head to Vanderbilt Sunday
Women's Basketball  . 

Gamecocks Head to Vanderbilt Sunday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 6/6 South Carolina heads to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt on Sun., Feb. 23, in a 3 p.m. ET tipoff.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina’s schedule is ranked the toughest in the nation by every metric, including the NET, where the Gamecocks’ opponents have the lowest combined NET. Their 13 games against Quad 1 opponents are tied for the most in the country, thanks to six such non-conference games in addition to the power of the SEC (10 games).

  • The Gamecocks’ 18.2 fast break points per game rank fourth in the nation and include 19.5 per SEC game. They have out-scored their opponents in that category by 10.4 points per game (11.7 per SEC game).

  • Freshman Joyce Edwards has been rock solid in SEC action with 15.2 points per league game (18th) on 61.5 percent shooting, which ranks second in the league. She has led the Gamecocks in scoring in eight of their 13 league games, including the last two, during which she averaged 23.0 points.

  • Sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley ramped up her defense in conference play, ranking 10th in the league in blocks (1.00) and eighth in steals (1.92). She has become more efficient offensively over the last few weeks as well. Her last five games have her averaging 13.0 points on 40.0 percent shooting and handing out 2.0 assists per game.

  • Long known as a solid defender, senior Bree Hall has stepped up her offensive production recently as well, averaging 8.0 points over the last five games, including 47.4 percent 3-point shooting.

  • Senior Te-Hina Paopao’s total scoring has dipped slightly recently, but her efficiency has climbed. Over the last three games, she has shot 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range.

  • Junior Raven Johnson is eighth in the nation with an SEC-best 3.15 assist-to-turnover ratio. That number rises to 4.00 in league play, which is also an SEC-best mark. Her 3.38 assists per conference game are 13th in the SEC as are her 1.77 steals per league outing.

  • Junior Chloe Kitts has attacked the boards lately with 10.0 rebounds per game over her last three outings, during which 5.3 per game have been on the offensive end. For the season, her 7.69 rebounds per game rank ninth in the SEC, and her 2.96 offensive rebounding average is seventh.

 

By the Numbers
.765 – South Carolina .765 free throw percentage is well ahead of the program’s season record of .730 (2018-19).

2.0 – Of the Gamecocks’ 5.7 blocks average, which is eighth in the nation, 2.0 per game have come from guards.

51.4 – South Carolina’s 41.5 paint points per game make up 51.4 percent of its offense.

 

The Vanderbilt Series
The Gamecocks are 22-21 all-time against the Commodores, including a 17-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), and have won the last 16 meetings.

In last season’s Jan. 28 meeting in Columbia, South Carolina used a second-quarter defensive effort that held Vanderbilt to just 25.0 percent shooting to turn a one-point first-quarter lead into a 10-point halftime margin. Five Gamecocks finished in double figures with 20 assists on 35 made field goals in the 91-74 South Carolina victory.

South Carolina’s last trip to Memorial Gymnasium resulted in a 96-48 victory on Jan. 19, 2023.

 

Road Ready
The Gamecocks are 317-263 (.547) all-time in road games (some records prior to 1976-77 did not include location of games), including a 142-47 mark (.751) under head coach Dawn Staley, giving her the best road winning percentage in program history. In SEC road games, the Gamecocks are 99-34 (.744) during Staley’s tenure.

The Gamecocks’ recent program-record 33-game road win streak (Jan. 6, 2022 – Nov. 20, 2024) is the third-longest in NCAA Div. I history.

 

Glass Work
South Carolina continues to show a full team rebounding effort, ranking eighth in the nation with 42.9 rebounds per game and 19th in rebounding margin (+8.0).

South Carolina’s 39.0 offensive rebounding percent is 17th in the nation, according to CBBanalytics.com. The Gamecocks are 10th in the nation in second-chance points, averaging 18.2 on the season, meaning they score 1.04 points per offensive board.

Five Gamecocks average at least four rebounds on the season with junior Chloe Kitts leading the way at 7.69 to rank ninth in the SEC. Junior Ashlyn Watkins is second with 6.07, and freshman Joyce Edwards is next at 4.9. Sania Feagin rounds out the forwards at 4.52 (5.1 per game against ranked teams), and is tied with guard Raven Johnson at that mark.

 

Quarter Breakdown
South Carolina‘s defense has held an opponent to single digits in a quarter 16 times this season, including seven against ranked teams. The Gamecocks have out-scored their opponent by 10 or more points in a quarter 31 times. The scoring differential is largest in the third quarter (+7.1) but the second is not far behind at +6.6. On the glass, the Gamecocks are best in the second (+3.4) and fourth quarters (+2.0).

Individually, five Gamecocks have scored double digits in a single quarter – Joyce Edwards (3), MiLaysia Fulwiley (2), Tessa Johnson (2), Chloe Kitts (1) and Te-Hina Paopao (1).  The top single-quarter individual scoring this season is 14 points by Johnson in the second quarter at Miss. St. (Jan. 5).

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