South-Carolina
South Carolina, Dawn Staley vs Auburn: Prediction, injury updates for A’ja Wilson day
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COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball got a night off from its usual routine of playing on Thursdays.
The No. 2 Gamecocks (20-1, 8-0 SEC) beat No. 18 Tennessee on Monday in Knoxville and now turn to host Auburn on Sunday (noon, SEC Network) in Colonial Life Arena.
The Tigers (11-10, 2-6) also had Thursday night off, with their last game a 74-51 win over Florida on Jan. 26.
These two SEC teams have played 51 times, and South Carolina leads the all-time series 30-21.
Here’s what to know about Auburn ahead of Sunday’s game:
South Carolina will retire A’ja Wilson’s jersey
Former star A’ja Wilson will be honored in a jersey retirement jersey before tipoff on Sunday. Wilson played for coach Dawn Staley at South Carolina from 2014-18.
She is the school’s all-time leader in career points with 2,389 and is No. 1 in free throws made in a career (597) and No. 1 in blocked shots in a career (363). Wilson was also the program’s first four-time All-American and National Player of the Year in 2018. She was named Naismith College Player of the Year (2017-18) and won the John R. Wooden Award the same year.
Staley and Wilson won the program’s first national title in 2017.
South Carolina defense will focus on Auburn’s DeYona Gaston
Forward DeYona Gaston leads the Tigers in scoring and is third in the SEC at 21.5 points per game.
Taliah Scott was averaging 20.3 but she hasn’t played since Nov. 22 with a wrist injury. The next leading scorer, Yuting Deng, is only averaging 9.7.
It’s apparent the offense flows mainly through Gaston, who will be the main area of focus for South Carolina’s defense. Gaston is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game as well.
Audia Young has taken the most 3-point attempts and has hit 24-of-69 shots from behind the arc (34.8%).
Auburn’s Mar’shaun Bostic is among SEC assist leaders
Senior guard Mar’shaun Bostic is one of the best passers in the conference this season, as she ranks No. 4 in the SEC with 5.2 assists per game.
To compare, the assist leader for South Carolina is Raven Johnson, averaging 2.6 per game.
South Carolina win vs Auburn would set an SEC record
With a win, South Carolina would pick up its 56th consecutive regular-season SEC win, adding to its conference record, and win No. 70 in a row at home, which would set a conference record. Tennessee won 69 consecutive home games from 1990-96.
The Gamecocks are also 10-0 at home this season and the only SEC team yet to lose a conference game. South Carolina comes into Sunday riding a 15-game win streak against Auburn, as it hasn’t lost to the Tigers since Jan. 19, 2012.
Who has beaten South Carolina women’s basketball?
The Gamecocks fell to UCLA, 77-62, on Nov. 24 in Los Angeles for their only loss of the season. The Bruins are the only undefeated basketball team in the country and have been No. 1 in the polls since beating South Carolina.
South Carolina vs Auburn injury updates
The SEC injury report will be released on Saturday night. South Carolina will be without Ashlyn Watkins, as she is out for the season after tearing her ACL. Auburn has been without Scott (wrist) since Nov. 22.
South Carolina score prediction vs Auburn
South Carolina 86, Auburn 61: South Carolina’s depth is just too much for Auburn to handle with its unbalanced scoring attack. Tessa Johnson and Sania Feagin combine for 20 plus points.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
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South-Carolina
South Carolina women's basketball Rapid Reaction: Ole Miss
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South Carolina had an impressive 75-59 win at Ole Miss. Here’s what stood out to me from the game.
– I joked during the game that Joyce Edwards picked a good game to have a bad game. Edwards had some trouble adjusting to how the Rebels were playing her in the first half and got into early foul trouble.
It didn’t matter because Sania Feagin and Chloe Kitts were playing so well that South Carolina needed to keep them on the floor.
Edwards battled through the early issues and still finished with 10 points despite only playing 15 minutes. That’s a pretty nice “bad game.”
– I watched a lot of Chloe Kitts in high school while South Carolina was recruiting her, and the player I saw then was the same one I saw on Thursday. In high school, she was a threat to shoot or drive, a solid rebounder, and a great passer.
Kitts hasn’t always shown that same versatility in college, but we’ve seen glimpses. The rebounding, shooting, and driving have been there. The passing has been a little behind, but a lot of that is because she isn’t being asked to be as much of a distributor.
It all came together perfectly on Thursday. A smaller opponent, the kind Kitts thrives against, playing more minutes because of Edwards’ early foul trouble, and the right matchups.
Against Ole Miss, South Carolina did ask Kitts to be a playmaker, and she delivered. South Carolina often broke the Ole Miss press by having a forward bring the ball up. Kitts was effective at getting South Carolina quickly into its offense.
Win tickets to Senior Day, South Carolina-Kentucky women’s basketball game
Then South Carolina just ran a two-player game between Kitts and Sania Feagin over and over, and the Rebels never figured out how to stop it.
– If every top 16 reveal guarantees a round of upsets, let’s do it more often. I was surprised the committee ranked Notre Dame ahead of South Carolina for the last one seed. Especially with what followed.
Notre Dame went out and lost at home to no. 24 Florida State, its second straight defeat and putting the Irish in a must-win game on Sunday. LSU lost at no. 20 Alabama, its luck in close games finally running out. And Texas survived at unranked Mississippi State, its second uninspiring game of the week. Plus, Kentucky blew out Tennessee by 24 in a game they led by 30 for most of the fourth quarter.
You know who won by double digits on the road against a top-15 NET opponent? South Carolina.
South-Carolina
Media Miss by the Left: South Carolina Republican wants to put Trump on new $250 bill
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South-Carolina
Kyle Kennard Shares How South Carolina Helped Him Prepare for the NFL
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The biggest pre-draft event of the offseason is here as the NFL Scouting Combine is underway. However before players take part in individual drills on the field, they will step to the podium to meet with media members, as was the case with former South Carolina Gamecock Kyle Kennard.
The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket joined the Gamecocks 2024 transfer class and enjoyed a career year in the garnet and black. While his development on the field helped him become a highly valued propspect, Kennard told the media just how impactful the Gamecocks program was off the field.
“They kind of helped me with the seriousness of it,” Kennard said. “They helped me get my mind orchestrated. They helped me with communications with the media and other things that you need to be ready for at this stage.”
Before hearing their names called in April’s draft, players, like Kennard, will have to go through team and media interviews. The development of communication skills and professional media training can go a long way in elevating one’s status in the draft.
The reigning Nagurski Trophy award winner is projected to be selected within the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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