<\/p>\n
COLUMBIA, SC \u2013<\/strong> No. 3\/3 South Carolina closes out the regular season on Sun., Mar. 1, at No. 16\/18 Kentucky in a 2 p.m. tipoff that will stream on SECN+.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Gamecock Notables<\/strong><\/p>\n South Carolina is second in the country with 47.3 points in the paint per game, including 42.1 per SEC game and 42.0 per game against ranked opponents. The Gamecocks are shooting 62.0 percent in the paint while holding opponents to just 42.1 percent accuracy in that space.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Three Gamecocks are among the SEC\u2019s top 10 in field goal percentage, led by Joyce Edwards (.599) and Madina Okot (.594) who rank ninth and 14th in the nation, respectively. Ta\u2019Niya Latson leads the Gamecock guards at 49.8 percent to come in seventh in the SEC.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n South Carolina\u2019s defense is among the nation\u2019s most disruptive, ranking second in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense (.337). Ranked opponents haven\u2019t fared much better, hitting just 39.1 percent from the field to average just 64.7 points against the Gamecocks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Point guards Raven Johnson and Maddy McDaniel are the most sure-handed facilitators in the SEC, holding the league\u2019s top two spots in assist-to-turnover ratio in league play. McDaniel leads the league at 3.2 and Johnson is just behind at 3.1. For the season, Johnson\u2019s 3.5 mark is second in the league and fourth in the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n South Carolina\u2019s trio of starting guards are having career-best seasons in terms of efficiency with Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson and Ta\u2019Niya Latson all posting the best field goal percentages of their careers. Tessa Johnson leads the team with 1.1 points per possession thanks to her SEC-best 45.5 percent shooting from 3-point range, which ranks ninth in the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Raven Johnson\u2019s senior season has been her most productive across the board with career-highs of 10.0 points and 5.4 assists per game. The combined scoring result of those numbers accounts for 25.4 percent of the Gamecocks\u2019 total offense. That percentage rises to 31.3 percent against ranked opponents as her averages rise to 11.4 points and 5.8 assists against the nation\u2019s best teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Gamecocks\u2019 trio of freshmen have come of age in the gauntlet of the SEC schedule and are thriving at the right time. Over the last five games, four of which were against ranked opponents, the trio averaged 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds with each playing at least 12.4 minutes per game.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n By the Numbers +15.4 \u2013<\/strong> The Gamecocks have a +15.4 scoring margin against ranked opponents this season.<\/p>\n 19 \u2013<\/strong> Madina Okot ranks third in the nation with 19 double-doubles, including an NCAA-best six against ranked opponents.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Kentucky Series The two teams last met on Mar. 2, 2025, in Columbia with then No. 6 South Carolina claiming a 78-66 victory over then-No. 15 Kentucky. Tessa Johnson led the offense with 16 points as the Gamecocks built a nine-point lead by halftime behind 55.9 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes and held the Wildcats off in the second half.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Road Ready \u00a0<\/p>\n Efficiency Report Individually, three Gamecocks are among the SEC\u2019s top 10 percentage shooters. Joyce Edwards leads the group in third at 59.9 percent, which ranks ninth in the nation, and Madina Okot is just behind at 59.4 percent to rank fourth in the SEC and 14th\u00a0 <\/span>in the country. Ta\u2019Niya Latson\u2019s career-best 49.8 percent accuracy comes in seventh in the SEC<\/p>\n From 3-point range, the Gamecocks are 11th in the nation and second in the SEC with a .373 percentage. Tessa Johnson is among the nation\u2019s most accurate outside shooters with her SEC-best 45.5 percent accuracy ranking ninth in the nation. Her 2.5 made 3s per game are sixth in the SEC and include six games of at least four made 3s.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Century City\n
<\/b>9 \u2013<\/strong> Joyce Edwards\u2019 nine 20-point game against SEC teams this season is tied for the program record.<\/p>\n
<\/b>The Gamecocks lead the all-time series with Kentucky 42-35, including a 26-11 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09 season). South Carolina has won the last five meetings and 11 of the last 12.<\/p>\n
<\/b>The Gamecocks are 328-264 (.554) all-time in road games (some records prior to 1976-77 did not include location of games), including a 154-49 mark (.759) under head coach Dawn Staley, giving her the best road winning percentage in program history. In SEC road games, the Gamecocks are 107-35 (.754) during Staley\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n
<\/b>A focus for South Carolina is efficiency \u2013 creating its own and disrupting its opponents\u2019. They are among the best in the nation at both \u2013 ranking third in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.512) and second in field goal percentage defense (.337). The Gamecocks lead the nation in offensive points per possession (1.218) and are second in defensive PPP (0.709), per Synergy.<\/p>\n
<\/b>The Gamecocks have scored at least 100 points in a program-record eight games this season, topping the 2023-24 team\u2019s six.\u00a0 <\/span>Two of the games were in SEC play including a program-record 112 points against Missouri (Feb. 26), which was the third-most points in a conference game in SEC history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n