Another Gamecocks Top 20 road test Monday – South Carolina Gamecocks

Gamecock Famous Faces

• South Carolina’s 41.6 points per game in the paint ranks eighth in the nation, just behind Tennessee’s 41.9 per game. The Gamecocks have already played the top four teams in that bracket, allowing just one (UCLA) to outscore them and holding all four to at least 10 points below their average.

• The Gamecock defense was especially stout in SEC action, leading the league in scoring defense (56.1), field goal percentage defense (.327), 3-point percentage defense (.239) and blocks per game (7.0). He’s done most of that damage over the past five games, during which opponents — including four ranked teams — have managed just 54.6 points per game on 30.7 percent shooting, including 20.7 percent from 3-point range .

• Senior forward Sania Feagin has steadily asserted her authority over the Gamecocks’ interior game on both sides of the ball, culminating in the last five games in which she has averaged 10.4 points (3rd on the team), 7.0 rebounds (2 5.0 blocks (1st on team) and 2.0 assists on 67.7% shooting from the field – all during a scrimmage opposite centers.

• Freshman forward Joyce Edwards has worked his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation not with gaudy season numbers (12.2 ppg, 4.9 ppg) but with his impact on the Gamecocks’ success. The team’s leading scorer on the season, she has led the team in a team-best eight games this season, including each of the last three. Her SEC-leading 14.3 points per game came on SEC-best 61.9 percent shooting.

• South Carolina has “done nothing but win” with Raven Johnson, according to its head coach, and that success has been based on her intangibles — defense, ability to manage a team and confidence to meet the moment. Quantifiable parts of Johnson’s game include 2.0 steals per SEC game (7th), a league-best 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in league play, the Gamecock guard leading 4.6 rebounds per match.

• Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao continues to lead the Gamecock offense against ranked opponents with her 12.1 points per game, 53.8 percent shooting and 46.2 percent from 3-point range, all above her season totals.

With the numbers
2.86 – South Carolina guards account for 2.86 of the SEC’s team-best 7.0 blocks per league game.

6 – Six Roosters are averaging at least 8.9 points in SEC action – three guards and three forwards.

8 – South Carolina’s eight wins over ranked teams are three more than any other team. All eight have at least 11 points.

Series Tennessee
The The Gamecocks are 15-49 all-time against the Lady Vols, but are 14-12 in the Dawn Staley era, including a win in the last seven meetings. South Carolina swept all three meetings against the Lady Vols last season, with Tennessee closing the gap as the streak, which spanned all 26 days, continued.

The most memorable game of the entire stretch was the SEC Tournament semifinal (March 9) with a last-second 3-pointer by center Camila Cardoso that sealed a 74-73 victory to preserve the Gamecocks’ undefeated season. The Lady Vols had come back from a 60-48 deficit with a strong fourth quarter before the South Carolina run.

In the 2023-24 regular-season finale in Columbia (March 3), South Carolina again held off a late charge by Tennessee in a 76-68 victory that saw five Gamecocks finish in double figures. The streak began with a 66-55 contest in Knoxville (Feb. 15) that was tied in the fourth quarter before the Gamecock defense locked down to hold the Lady Vols to seven points on 22.2 percent shooting in the final period.

The road is ready
The Gamecocks are 315-262 (.546) all-time in road games (some records prior to 1976-77 do not include the location of games), including a 140-46 (.753) mark under head coach Dawn Staley, giving her the most best road winning percentage in program history. In SEC road games, the Gamecocks are 97-33 (.746) during Staley’s tenure.

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

All about balance
Like last season, South Carolina’s biggest asset is its depth with the 2024-25 roster featuring six Gamecocks who averaged at least 18.0 minutes and scored at least 8.1 points per game last season.

This season, 10 Gamecocks have played at least 15.0 minutes per game. Seven averaged at least 7.0, including five that averaged 9.0 or higher. Five players have grabbed at least 4.0 rebounds per game. Eleven Gamecocks have scored in double figures at least once, including six who have done so at least five times, and six players have led the team in scoring at least once.

Block party
South Carolina ranks among the nation’s top blocking teams every year, and with every Gamecock recording at least one shutout this season, they’re continuing the tradition. Even without a dominant center and the loss of top shot blocker Ashlyn Watkins to injury, the Gamecocks are sixth in the nation with 6.3 blocks per game, including 2.25 per game from guards.

After recording 3.0 blocks per game over the past five outings (mostly against ranked opponents), senior Sania Feagin is sixth in the SEC with a team-best 1.55 blocks per game, including a career-best 2.29 in league in SEC play. MiLaysia Fulwiley is 10th in the league with 1.14 blocks per conference game.