NCAA 1st ROUND TOURNAMENT (HEMISFAIR REGION)
# 6/5 SOUTH CAROLINA (22-4) VS. MERCER (19-6)
SUNDAY, MARCH 21 | 6 pm (Eastern time) | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS | ALAMODOME
TV: ESPN | Radio: 107.5 The Game
HISTORY OF THE NCAA GAMECOCK TOURNAMENT
Appearances: 17 (1982, 1986, 1988, 1989,1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
General record (Staley Era): 30-15 (22-7)
Sweet 16 Appearances: 10 (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Elite Eight Appearances: 4 (2002, 2015, 2017, 2018)
Four final appearances: 2 (2015, 2017)
National championships: 1 (2017)
Italic indicates during Dawn Staley it was
USC Athletics Communications and Public Relations
ABOUT THE SUNDAY GAME
Gamecocks are 6-2 of all time against Mercer. This will be the first meeting of the two teams at the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina has 13-3 of all time in its first game of the NCAA Tournament, including an 8-0 mark in the Dawn Staley it was. The Gamecocks won Staley’s eight games in the first round by an average of 27.6 points.
A win tonight would be the 500th of Dawn Staley’s college coaching career. So far, 327 of those victories have taken place in her 13 seasons in South Carolina as the most winning coach of all time in the program.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
South Carolina enters the NCAA Tournament as No. 1 seed for the fifth time in the last eight tournaments. The Gamecocks won this seed by playing the country’s toughest schedule, facing one of the NCAA’s top 13 ranked opponents, without suffering any “bad losses”, as their four defeats reached teams # 1, 3, 4 and 13 this week Poll.
With so many well-known stars in the South Carolina squad, it’s easy to forget that this season’s team is young, especially in the postseason. Only four Gamecocks back played in an NCAA tournament, and those four played 153 minutes in the event. Consider LeLe Grissett, who is out of the group due to an injury at this year’s event, and the combined minutes drop to 83.
American Aliyah Boston, from the first team, remains in the discussion for the national player of the year because of the myriad ways she can impact a game. In the Gamecocks attack, she was the leading scorer and the main distributor, as her vision, calm and basketball IQ make her an insightful passer. Defensively, she is among the best kick blockers in the country (12th, 2.8 bpg), but is also able to defend herself at the perimeter against pole players or against guards on a lever, while still recovering to protect the painting. The combination has made her a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and a semifinalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year so far.
While Boston often steals the headlines, the Gamecocks’ starting lineup is among the most dynamic in the country. Sophomore Zia Cooke can score points, ranking 13th in the SEC with 15.9 ppg, which includes 22 double-digit games and five 20-point games, and can be an aggressive defender on the ball. Junior Destanni Henderson strengthens the Gamecock attack, both with his best SEC of 5.2 assists per game and his 12.6 points per game, and is fast as lightning with the ball. Henderson scores or assists in 45.0% of Gamecocks, 16.0 break points per game. Both were nominated for the SEC All-Tournament Team.