Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is playing in its 11th-straight and 15th overall NCAA Sweet 16 with a 8-6 record in the round. Head coach Dawn Staley is 7-4 in Sweet 16 games, all at South Carolina.
• Friday’s game will be the Gamecocks’ 16th against a ranked opponent this season, matching the 2017-18 squad for the most in program history. South Carolina is 12-3 against ranked teams in 2024-25.
• South Carolina’s history of paint dominance continues this season with the Gamecocks leading the nation with 42.7 points in the paint per game. South Carolina guards are averaging 17.6 paint points.
• The Gamecocks are fifth in the nation with 5.8 blocks per game, led by Sania Feagin’s 1.51 per game. Gamecock guards combine for nearly half the team’s blocks at 2.3 per game, led by MiLaysia’ Fulwiley’s 0.8 average.
• Through five postseason games, four Gamecocks average double-figure points with one more just off the mark and three others posting at least 6.0 points per game. As a team, South Carolina is shooting 51.2 percent in the postseason.
• All-American and SEC Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts has been on a tear since her triple-double at Ole Miss (Feb. 27). Over the seven-game stretch, she has posted 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 60.9 percent from the field – all of which helped the Gamecocks to SEC Regular-Season and Tournament titles.
• SEC Sixth Woman of the Year and All-American MiLaysia Fulwiley has stuffed the stat sheet in the postseason, averaging 11.4 points on 43.8 percent shooting, team-highs of 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks all while playing just 18.4 minutes per game.
• Two-time All-American Te-Hina Paopao has developed all aspects of her game under Staley, increasing her percentage of scoring in the paint and midrange, handing out a team-high 2.9 assists per game and officially joining the “Seatbelt Gang” as a defensive stopper after four blocks and two steals against Indiana on Sunday.
• All-American Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring, including a team-high five 20-point outings, in just 21.3 minutes per game. Her 24.7 points per 40 minutes are second among the nation’s freshman post players.

By the Numbers

3 – Just three South Carolina games have been decided by single-digit points this season.

6 – Raven Johnson needs six assists to move into the program’s career top-10 list, in just her third full season.

The Maryland Series

The Gamecocks are 6-2 all-time against the Terrapins, including a 5-1 mark in the Dawn Staley era and a 1-0 slate in the NCAA Tournament.

The two teams last met early in the 2023-24 season with #1 South Carolina dominating #14 Maryland 114-76 in Columbia. After an even first quarter, the Gamecocks exploded in the second, shooting 57.1 percent with a 15-7 edge on the boards to take a 12-point lead into halftime. They hit the afterburners in the fourth, winning the quarter by 20 points with the bench scoring 23 of the 37 points in the period.

The teams met twice in 2022-23, including an NCAA Elite Eight matchup in Greenville, S.C., which the Gamecocks won 86-75. In that game, the Terrapins took the early lead before a 23-9 second quarter put the Gamecocks in control, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and controlling the boards 15-5 in the period.

Neutral Stance

The Gamecocks are 177-96 (.648) all-time on a neutral court. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is 94-27 in games played at neutral sites (.777), including a 59-17 (.776) mark in postseason play.

Gamecocks Against the Field

South Carolina played 10 of the other 15 teams joining it in the Sweet 16 with the Gamecocks going 10-3 against those squads. Five of the 13 games were against non-conference foes – Duke, vs. NC State, vs. TCU, at UCLA, UConn.

In the full field of 68, the Gamecocks faced 16 teams with a 17-3 mark against them.

Ranked Readings

Against ranked teams, South Carolina is 129-70 (.648) in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), and even that mark is skewed by the early seasons of her tenure. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Gamecocks are 114-31 (.786) against ranked teams, including a 44-4 (91.7) mark since the start of the 2021-22 season.

This season, South Carolina leads the nation with 12 wins over ranked teams, including the program’s first over a #1 ranked team. An NCAA-best seven of those wins were over top-10 opponents, and the Gamecocks’ opponents had an average ranking of 10.6 at the time of the game.

The Gamecocks’ 15 games against ranked opponents is one shy of the 2017-18 team’s program record 16, and their 12 ranked wins this season is tied for the fourth-most in program history. The 2021-22 team holds the program record with 14 wins over ranked opponents, and two other Staley-led squads posted 13 such wins (2015-16, 2019-20). The Gamecocks 2016-17 national championship team defeated 12 ranked opponents.