# 4/3 SOUTH CAROLINA (11-1, 6-0 SEC) NA LSU (6-6, 4-2 SEC)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24 – 1 pm ET | BATON ROUGE, LA. | MARAVICH CENTER
WATCH: SEC Network | LISTEN: 107.5 The Game
ABOUT THIS GAME
While LSU holds a 22-14 lead in the all-time series, Gamecocks have won the last 10 games and are 11-5 against Tigers in the Dawn Staley it was including a 4-3 record at the Maravich Center.
South Carolina expects its 23rd consecutive win in the SEC’s regular season tonight. Their longest winning streak at the SEC is 24 games – from January 3, 2016 to January 26, 2017. Including three wins at the SEC 2020 Tournament, Gamecocks defeated an SEC opponent in 25 consecutive games.
Today’s game pits the SECs against long-term black chief coaches, one against the other, with Staley in his 13th season in South Carolina and Nikki Fargas in his 10th at LSU. They are the second and third longest-serving coach in the league, behind Gary Blair. in his 18th season at Texas A&M.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
Gamecocks were ranked in the top five of the past 24 AP Polls, marking the longest active streak of its kind in the country.
While the South Carolina attack gets most of the headlines, opposing coaches know that it is the Gamecock defense that can get their team out of the game. South Carolina has awarded SEC opponents just 60.7 points per game this season to occupy second place in the league. In the season against a calendar that has the highest percentage of victories for opponents in the country, Gamecocks are in 30th place in the country in percentage of goals (0.352) and 17th in the country in 3 percentage points of defense (0.240). South Carolina leads the country in blocked kicks per game (8.2) and averages 16.1 points out of 14.6 spins of opponents per game.
Unanimous AP preseason All-American Aliyah Boston triple-double against Georgia was a performance that had been growing since the start of the league game. In the Gamecocks’ three victories against SEC classified opponents (in # 10/8 Kentucky, # 15/16 Arkansas, # 22/23 Georgia), the 6-foot-5 striker averaged 20.7 points at 55.8% of pitches, 13.0 rebounds and 7.7 blocks. In the season, Boston ranks sixth in the country in blocks per game (3.3) and 19th in average rebounds (11.1). She has an average of double in the season (14.4 ppg, 11.1 rpg), in the SEC game (17.3, 12.5) and against ranked opponents (15.7, 11.3)
While Boston receives a lot of spotlight, junior Victaria Saxton has put its brand on the frontline of Gamecocks as well. Known as a kick blocker and aggressive rebound, Saxton’s attack has increased this season to 10.6 points per game. She has been especially effective recently, ranking third in the team in the last five games with 12.2 points per game, including her first 20-point game in her career at Vanderbilt (14 January).
Junior Destanni Henderson is the main driver of Gamecocks’ fast pace this season, even though opponents are focused on taking it down. Her 12.3 points per game is the third in the team and she leads the SEC with 5.8 assists per game, including 6.5 in league games. She recorded her first double-double with 14 points and 10 assists against # 15/16 Arkansas (18 January).
Gamecocks took full advantage of LeLe Grissett’s senior versatility with Staley playing with her everywhere on the court, including honing her point guard skills. While she is learning to lead the team from that place, Grissett has taken advantage of her size and ability to work to reach fifth place in the SEC, with 3.0 offensive rebounds per league game.
BY NUMBERS
4 The sophomore, Aliyah Boston, needs only four blocks to reach the tenth tie in the history of the program in career blocks, playing only 45 career games so far.
5 All five Gamecocks beginners have on average double-digit points in the SEC game.
19.0 South Carolina has an average of 19.0 second chance points in 18.6 offensive rebounds per game, which occupy second place in the country.
46.9 South Carolina is shooting 46.9 percent in road / neutral games this season, including 43.2 percent in the 3-point range. Both numbers exceed the pace of home shooting.
55.8 Gamecocks scored 55.8% of their points this season in painting. Of these 47.0 painting points per game, 25.0 of them were scored by guards.