South Carolina Gamecocks
SEC (30-2, 15-1)
South Carolina heads into the NCAA Tournament a significant threat to get to the Final Four for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks will bring to the table a lot of motivation to atone for coming up short as a number one seed last year as they lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 out at the Stanford Regional. The motivation from last year, along with having greater depth, should have South Carolina equipped for a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Big Wins: 12/7 at Duke (51-50), 1/11 Kentucky (68-60), 2/23 Tennessee (71-66)
Bad Losses: 2/9 at Connecticut (62-87), 3/1 at Kentucky (56-67)
Coach: Dawn Staley
Why They Can Surprise:
South Carolina has improved defensively since getting destroyed by Connecticut in an 87-62 loss up in Storrs back on February 9th. The home court advantage will be huge for South Carolina in the opening two rounds as the Gamecocks have led the nation in attendance at Colonial Life Arena all season long. Tiffany Mitchell and Aleighsa Welch are going to be key and they will provide the balance necessary at the offensive end of the court to keep teams honest defensively. Freshman A’ja Wilson has lived up to the hype as the top incoming freshman this season in women’s college basketball. Wilson has been very efficient shooting the basketball and has been a huge help rebounding at the defensive end of the court as well.
Why They Can Disappoint:
In the win over Tennessee on February 23rd, the offense struggled down the stretch as South Carolina went scoreless for almost five minutes late in the second half and it almost cost them against the Volunteers. It is going to be important for the Gamecocks to minimize any extended amount of time where they struggle to score in the NCAA Tournament as games in the Sweet 16 and beyond will be tightly contested. Free-throw shooting could be an issue as well later in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks shot in the low to mid 60 percent range all season long from the charity stripe.
Probable Starters:
Tiffany Mitchell, Junior, Guard, 14.4 ppg, 2.7 apg
Khadijah Sessions, Junior, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 3.1 apg
Asia Dozier, Senior, Guard/Forward, 3.8 ppg
Aleighsa Welch, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Elam Ibiam, Senior, Center, 6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
A’ja Wilson, Freshman, Guard/Forward, 13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.8 bpg
Alana Coates, Sophomore, Center, 10.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.5 rpg
Tina Roy, Junior, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 2.4 apg
Bianca Cuevas, Freshman, Guard, 5.4 ppg, 1.8 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.7 (17th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 53.3 (10, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.7 (7, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 34.9 (11, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.9 (179, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.3 (41, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.1 (224, 7)
Rebound Margin: 10.6 (9, 1)
Assists Per Game: 16.7 (18, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.6 (76, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA First Round win over Cal State Northridge
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Oregon State
2014 NCAA Third Round loss to North Carolina
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over South Dakota State
2013 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Eastern Michigan
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Stanford
2011 NIT Round of 64 win over Appalachian State
2011 NIT Round of 32 loss to Charlotte
2008 NIT First Round loss to North Carolina A&T
2008 NIT Second Round loss to North Carolina State
2007 NIT Second Round win over Hartford
2007 NIT Third Round loss to Hofstra
2006 NIT First Round loss to Xavier
2003 NCAA Round of 64 win over Chattanooga
2003 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Penn State
*all team stats through 3/5
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
