Tag: Top5

Gamecock Notables

• This game is South Carolina’s NCAA-leading ninth against a ranked opponent this season and their fourth straight ranked contest. With seven SEC teams ranked this week, every league team faces a gauntlet, but the Gamecocks added six ranked non-conference teams to their slate for 14 total games against the  nation’s best – four more games than any other ranked team.

• The Gamecock defense is 15th in the nation, allowing just 55.1 points per game, including yielding just 57.1 points per game to ranked opponents.

• After a pair of loose turnover games, South Carolina tightened up against #13/13 Oklahoma with just six. On the season, the Gamecocks are 12th in the nation with just 12.1 turnovers per game.

• The Gamecocks are sixth in the nation with 42.0 points in the paint per game.

• South Carolina’s depth continues to stymie opponents with five Gamecocks averaging at least 9.0 points, including three who come off the bench. Nine of the 12 active roster players average at least 15.0 minutes per game.

• Freshman Joyce Edwards has been on a tear since the end of the Fall semester, averaging 15.2 points over those nine games on 64.6 percent shooting. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week is the Gamecocks’ top scorer on the season, and her 14.3 points per SEC game rank 20th in the league on an SEC-best 65.4 percent shooting..

• Senior Sania Feagin has been locked in since Ashlyn Watkins’ injury, averaging 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds over the last four games. Her numbers, which also include 2.75 blocks per game, have come while also defending opposing centers who tower over her 6-foot-3 frame.

• Sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley is second on the team in scoring overall (11.2) and in SEC play (13.7) as she continues to grow into steady play and defensive effort alongside her natural ability to wow the crowd. The runner-up for AP Player of the Week, she averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 assists and 1.5 blocks last week that included a pair of behind the back assists, highlight reel layups and a 34-foot 3-pointer.

By the Numbers
6.33 – South Carolina leads the SEC with 6.33 blocks per conference game, including a pair of guards ranking among the league’s top 15.

8.4 – Junior Chloe Kitts averaged 8.4 rebounds over the last five games.

69.8 – The Gamecocks assisted on 69.8 percent of their field goals last week (23.0 assists per game).

The LSU Series
The Gamecocks are 20-22 all-time against the Tigers but boast a 17-5 mark in the Dawn Staley era, including winning the last 16 meetings.

South Carolina swept a pair of tight games last season with both games decided in the fourth quarter. In the 2024 SEC Tournament title game (Mar. 10), LSU drew within a point with 4:36 to play and were within five at late as the 1:57 mark. The Gamecock defense shut down the Tigers down the stretch with Sania Feagin and MiLaysia Fulwiley delivering from the free throw line to seal the victory.

Six weeks earlier in Baton Rouge (Jan. 25), it was the Gamecocks who rallied in the fourth. Trailing 56-52 after three quarters, the teams tied four times and traded the lead five times in the final 10 minutes. The Tigers knotted the game at 70-70 with 1:42 to play when Bree Hall buried a clutch 3, and Raven Johnson scored the final three points for the 76-70 South Carolina victory.

Dial Up the Defense
Head coach Dawn Staley has always put a premium on defense, and this year’s team has kept that tradition while facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

The Gamecocks are 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 55.1 points per game, and have allowed just 57.5 points per game against ranked opponents. The defense has allowed more than 70 points just twice and has held its opponent under 60 point 12 times, including five ranked foes.

Ranking seventh in the nation in blocks per game (6.0), the Gamecocks have allowed opponents to shoot just 34.2 percent from the field, which ranks ninth in the nation.

That’s So Raven
Junior Raven Johnson has turned her 2024 All-SEC effort into spots on the Naismith and Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award watch lists after capping her ‘Revenge Tour’ with a lock-down defensive effort in the National Championship game.

This season Johnson’s scoring started off sluggish but her contributions continue to be integral to the team’s success. The junior leads the team with 2.9 assists per game, which includes 3.5 per SEC game to rank 14th in the league. Her 4.20 assist-to-turnover ratio in league games leads the SEC.. She is fourth on the team in rebounding at 4.7 boards per game, including a 10-rebound outing against #5/5 Texas (Jan. 12) and four other games with ate last seven rebounds.