By james art 
No. 2/2 South Carolina Trips to No. 17/17 Tennessee for its fifth consecutive game against a ranked opponent. Tipoff on Monday is set for 7:00 PM on ESPN2. Press release written by USC Athletics Communications and Public Relations
Game information
When: January 27, 2025, 7 p.m.
Where: Knoxville, TN / Food City Center
Television: ESPN2 (Courtney Lyle, PXP; Carolyn Peck, Analyst)
Radio: 107.5 FM / Sirius XM CH 83 (Brad Mueller)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Gamecock remarkable
- South Carolina’s 41.6 points per game in the paint rank eighth in the nation, just behind Tennessee’s 41.9 per game. The Gamecocks have already played the top four teams in that category, allowing just one (UCLA) to outscore them in the paint and hold all four at least 10 points below their average.
- The Gamecock defense has been particularly stout in SEC action, leading the league in scoring defense (56.1), field goal defense (.327), 3-point percentage defense (.239) and blocks per game (7.0). It has 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 Feigin has continued to stamp her authority on the Gamecocks’ interior game on both sides of the ball, culminating in the last five games that have seen her average 10.4 points (3rd on team), 7.0 rebounds (2nd on team) 5.0 blocks (1st on the team) and 2.0 assists while shooting 67.7 percent from the field — all while battling opposite centers.
- Freshman Joyce Edwards has worked her way into the Rookie of the Year conversation, not with crappy season numbers (12.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg), but with her impact on the Gamecocks’ success. The team’s leading scorer on the season, she has paced the team in a team-high eight games this season, including each of the last three. Her game-high 14.3 points per game have come on a team-best 61.9 percent shooting.
- According to its head coach, South Carolina has “done nothing but win” with Raven Johnson, and that success has been grounded in its intangibles — defense, ability to manage a team and confidence to meet the moment. Johnson’s game quants include 2.0 SEC steals per game (7th), a league-best 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in a league game, Gamecock-Guard leading 4.6 rebounds per game.
- 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, above her season totals.
By the numbers
2.86 – South Carolina Guards account for 2.86 of the league’s team-best 7.0 blocks.
6 – Six Gamecocks 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 had at least 11 points.
The Tennessee Series: The Gamecocks are 15-49 all-time against the Lady Vols, but are 14-12 in 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 margin when the streak, which lasted all of 26 days, continued.
The most memorable game of the stretch was the SEC Tournament semifinal (March 9) on a last-second 3-pointer by center Camila Cardoso that sealed a 74-73 victory to preserve the Gamecocks’ undefeated season. The Lady Vols rallied from a 60-48 deficit with a strong fourth quarter before South Carolina’s run away.
In the 2023-24 regular season finale Colombia (March 3), South Carolina once again held off a late Tennessee charge in a 76-68 victory that saw five Gamecocks finish in double figures. The series opened with a 66-55 rout in Knoxville (Feb. 15) that was tied entering 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.
Road ready: The Gamecocks are 315-262 (.546) all-time in road games (some records prior to 1976-77 do not include game locations), including a 140-46 (.753) mark under head coach Dawn Staley, giving her the 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 33-game winning streak (Jan. 6, 2022-Nov. 20, 2024) is the third-longest in the NCAA Div. I HISTORY.
All about balance: Like last season, South Carolina’s biggest asset is its depth on the 2024-25 roster with six Gamecocks averaging at least 18.0 minutes and scoring 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 a 7.0 grade point average, including five that averaged a 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 annually ranks among the top shot-blocking teams in the country, and with every Gamecock recording at least one block 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 country with 6.3 blocks per game, including 2.25 per game from guard.
After recording 3.0 blocks per game over the past five outings (mostly against ranked opponents), senior Sania Fagin is sixth in the SEC with a team-high 1.55 blocks per game, including a league-best 2.29 in SEC play. Milaysia Fulwiley is 10th in the league with 1.14 blocks per conference game.