COLUMBIA, SC – No. 3/3 South Carolina will play its first road game of the season on Thu., Dec. 4, when it travels to No. 22/21 Louisville for a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN as part of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is 1-1 against ranked opponents this season and 48-6 against them over the last five seasons.

• The Gamecocks’ 122 consecutive entries in the AP top 10 are the longest active streak in the nation and the eighth longest in the poll’s history.

• South Carolina’s high-powered offense (89.5 ppg, 9th in NCAA) is among its most efficient as well, ranking fourth in the nation with a .537 field goal percentage.

• Even with an efficient offense, South Carolina is 15th in the country with 15.6 second-chance points per game.

• The Gamecocks are second in the country with 52.3 points in the paint per game and 19th in the country in opponent paint points per game at 21.3. In two games against ranked opponents, the Gamecocks have a +13.0 margin in points in the paint (41.0-28.0).

• Madina Okot is establishing herself as one of the most dominant centers in the county as she leads the nation with six double-doubles, ranks 11th in the rebounding average (11.1) and 17th in field goal percentage (.613). Over the last four games, she has averaged 18.0 points on 68.9 percent shooting, 11.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

• National player of the year candidate Joyce Edwards has asserted herself offensively this season, ranking third in the SEC and 31st in the nation with 19.6 points per game, including a team-high four games of at least 20 points. Her season average includes 16.5 points per game against ranked opponents.

• Three-time All-American Ta’Niya Latson is putting up career-best field goal percentages this season, ranking 10th in the SEC by shooting 54.4 percent from the field to go with 50.0 percent accuracy from 3-point range en route to her 17.1 points per game.

• Senior point guard Raven Johnson is a proven winner and has played a key role in the Gamecocks’ success in her four seasons on the court to the tune of a 114-6 record. Already among the Gamecocks’ all-time best in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, this season she ranks among the nation’s best as well. Johnson is 11th in the country with 6.6 assists per game (4th in SEC) and ninth in the nation with a 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd in SEC).

By the Numbers

1.17 – The Gamecocks are scoring 1.17 points per offensive rebound.

25.9 – South Carolina’s 25.9 fast break points per game rank second in the nation.

65.3 – The Gamecocks are shooting 65.3 percent in the paint this season.

The Louisville Series
South Carolina is 18-4 all-time against the Cardinals, but just two of those meetings have come during the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09 season). Both games were on neutral courts and both wins went to the Gamecocks.

The two teams last met with a spot in the NCAA National Championship game on the line in Minneapolis.  South Carolina built a seven-point lead after the opening quarter and didn’t look back in a 72-59 win on Apr. 1, 2022, en route to the second of their three national championships.

Road Ready
The Gamecocks are 318-263 (.547) all-time in road games (some records prior to 1976-77 did not include location of games), including a 144-48 mark (.750) under head coach Dawn Staley, giving her the best road winning percentage in program history.

Schedule Sketch
South Carolina’s schedule continues to challenge and prepare the team for the postseason. This year’s slate features 10 games against teams ranked in the current top 25 – four home, four road and two neutral sites. Four of the 10 games are against teams in the top 10.

The non-conference schedule is highlighted by three ranked matchups – vs. #8/10 Southern Cal (W, 69-52), vs. #4/4 Texas (L, 64-66) and at #22/21 Louisville (Dec. 4).

In the first NET rankings released on Dec. 1, South Carolina is ranked seventh and has 12 Quad 1 games on the schedule, including three non-conference matchups.

Block Party
The Gamecocks have been a premier shot blocking program since their first national championship in 2017. They ranked in the top 15 in blocks per game that season and have only climbed higher in the eight subsequent seasons, including four years leading the nation in the stat and twice coming in second.  Beyond the number of blocks, the team’s block percentage has led the nation three seasons.

So far this season, South Carolina is fourth in the nation with 7.6 blocks per game, including 6.0 against ranked opponents. The Gamecocks have blocked 18.0 percent of opponents’ 2-point attempts, which ranks fourth in the nation as well, according to Her Hoop Stats.

Madina Okot tops the individual list with 2.0 blocks per game to rank 28th in the nation and fourth in the SEC. Joyce Edwards is not far behind at 1.5 per game (8th SEC). All but one Gamecock have blocked at least one shot.