South-Carolina

Undefeated South Carolina No. 1 in Albany region full of fresh faces

Published

9 months ago

March 18, 2024

Undefeated South Carolina No. 1 in Albany region full of fresh faces

For the fourth straight season, South Carolina is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And once again, Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks are the favorites to win the Big Dance.

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South Carolina (32-0) just completed their second consecutive undefeated regular season and captured the program’s eighth Southeastern Conference Tournament title. The Gamecocks will begin their pursuit of a third national championship under the direction of Staley on Friday at home in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks will take on the winner of a First Four matchup between a pair of 16-seeds, Sacred Heart (22-9) and Presbyterian (17-14).

The Gamecocks will have to play that game without leading scorer and rebounder Kamilla Cardoso, who must serve a one-game suspension after she was ejected from the SEC championship game for what the referees deemed was fighting during a late-game skirmish with LSU. Cardoso averages 14 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and sixth nationally in defensive rating with a 71.8 mark.

“We all know that we’re a better basketball team when Kamilla Cardoso is in the lineup,” Staley said Sunday. “We’ll make do hopefully until she’s able to come back.”

Staley, who this week was voted Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for the third straight year, has won comfortably without Cardoso this season though. The Gamecocks beat Missouri and UConn by an average margin of 28 points while the 6-foot-7 center was playing with the Brazilian national team in February. Cardoso also missed a 48-point win over Kentucky, when she was sidelined for rest.

In the win over UConn, it was Te-Hina Paopao who stepped up and scored 21 points. The transfer from Oregon has flourished under Staley, shooting a career-best 47.1 percent from 3-point land this season, which is 11th best in the country. Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley has played well lately too, averaging 15 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game over her last six outings. Fulwiley was named SEC Tournament MVP after scoring 24 points in 16 minutes in the title game.

Fulwiley isn’t the only stellar freshman in the Albany 1 region. No. 2 Notre Dame (26-6) has been powered this season by Hannah Hidalgo, who has piled up stats and accolades.

After being voted Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Hidalgo poured in 58 points, 18 rebounds and 18 assists in three days in Greensboro, N.C. to help Notre Dame win its first ACC Tournament title since 2019. Hidalgo leads the nation in steals with 4.6 per game.

“Hannah is a special player,” Irish teammate Sonia Citron said. “We knew before she even played a game. Just when she came in in the summer, she just has a different mentality, so in workouts, in practices, we kind of just knew she was going to be special. She’s just different.”

While the Irish have three players averaging double figures in scoring – Citron and Maddy Westbeld join Hidalgo’s 23.3 points per game in that group – they lack depth. Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said Sunday that starting forward Kylee Watson would miss the NCAA Tournament with a torn ACL she suffered in the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame has played all of this season without All-American guard Olivia Miles, who had knee surgery last offseason.

Should South Carolina and Notre Dame meet in the Elite Eight, it will be a rematch of the season-opener for both teams, a 29-point win for the Gamecocks on a neutral court in Paris, France.

While South Carolina is undefeated, the nation’s second-longest win streak belongs to the Fairfield Stags, who are seeded 13th in this region. The Stags (31-1) – guided by second-year coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis – have won 29 games in a row and are ranked 25th in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. Fairfield, which begins its tournament at No. 4 Indiana, is also led by a standout freshman in forward Meghan Andersen, who averages 15.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

“We’re excited to get ready and prepare for the week ahead and figure out the plan. It’s a team and a league I’m familiar with so I’m excited to get back to Big Ten country,” said Thibault-DuDonis, who was an assistant at Minnesota before coaching Fairfield.

The Stags will aim to pull off an upset over the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. The last MAAC team to win an NCAA Tournament game was Quinnipiac in 2018.

—On the other side of Indiana’s host site is No. 5 Oklahoma (22-9) against No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (27-4). While the Sooners won the Big 12 regular season title, FGCU – coached Karl Smesko in his 21st season – has made a habit of first-round upsets. Since 2018, the Eagles have advanced to the second round in three of their last five tournament appearances.

—In the second round, South Carolina will likely face the winner of No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (22-8).

A meeting with the Tar Heels would be a rematch of a Nov. 30 game in Chapel Hill, which the Gamecocks won by seven points despite trailing by as much as 11 points in the second quarter. UNC and South Carolina also faced off in the 2022 Sweet 16 in Greensboro, N.C.

—This is the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for Presbyterian. Tilda Sjokvist, a sophomore from Sweden, leads the Blue Hose with 13 points and 3.5 assists per game.

—Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media

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South-Carolina

South Carolina takes commanding lead in Palmetto Series thus far

Published

1 hour ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

South Carolina takes commanding lead in Palmetto Series thus far

Every South Carolina native knows the impact and weight of the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry. As a well-known rivalry nationwide, it just means more around here.

The Gamecocks currently hold a commanding 4-0-2 lead in this year’s Palmetto Series. To put it into perspective, they went undefeated in the fall semester against their in-state rival.

Here’s how South Carolina has gotten its wins over Clemson so far.

Volleyball

After both soccer teams — men’s and women’s — tied in their two matchups with the Tigers, the volleyball team got the winning going in the Palmetto Series with a 3-0 shutout on Sept. 20.

Riley Whitesides led the team with 18 kills, including big swings in sets one and three to lock in the win, 34-32, 25-16, 25-23. The Gamecocks were able to move to 9-2 on the year with that win and finished their season 16-12 with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

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Women’s basketball

Women’s basketball earned a big win in the series on Nov 20. Head coach Dawn Staley had hoped to set the winning tone for other sports to follow.

“I mean it’s always great. When I first came here, I said we’ll take a UConn win over a Clemson win any way and then people started going crazy,” Staley said. “I’ll take a win against Clemson, obviously for the rivalry, for the Palmetto point, for hopefully opening the winning ways for men’s basketball as well as football.”

Previously ranked No. 1 South Carolina did just that. Handling the Tigers on their home court in dominant fashion to win 77-45, South Carolina’s defense held Clemson to just six points in the second quarter.

Just 10 days later, the Gamecocks defeated Clemson as the underdog on the Tigers home field. The Palmetto Bowl was a highly anticipated game with Clemson ranked No. 12 and South Carolina at No. 15. There were also possible playoff hopes for both teams on the line.

South Carolina’s 17-14 comeback win held a lot of weight for head coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks.

“What about our team, to overcome some of the stuff that we had to overcome,” Beamer said. “So much of it self-inflicted and to just find a way to win at the end is really, really special.”

Men’s Basketball

South Carolina men’s basketball overcame adversity and found a way to win over No. 25 Clemson. The Gamecocks beat the Tigers 91-88 in overtime at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday.

For head coach Lamont Paris, beating Clemson meant more for the large crowd of fans in attendance.

“I was really happy with the crowd and really there’s a part of you that wants to really win the game, it’s a small part. The rest of it’s for all these other reasons, but you also want to win for your fans — you do,” Paris said. “They made the effort, there’s plenty of things they could have been doing. They came, they cheered, they’re exhausted, they rode the highs and the lows with you for 45 minutes. You want to win badly for that fan base.”

Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles led the Gamecocks with 22 points on the night. Murry-Boyles said his fuel for this game came from passionate fans in the crowd.

“Shoutout to all the fans that were here supporting us,” Murray-Boyles said. “They really kept my energy high, and I feel like they kept the team’s energy high.”

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Upcoming matchups

Women’s golf: February 2-4; February 16-18

Men’s tennis: Feb. 7 (@ Clemson)

Women’s tennis: Feb. 11 (@ Clemson)

Baseball: February 28 (@ Clemson); March 1 (Greenville); March 2 (Columbia)

Softball: March 25 (Columbia); April 15 (@ Clemson)

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South-Carolina

Vandrevius Jacobs Signs New NIL Deal to Stay in Columbia

Published

10 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

Vandrevius Jacobs Signs New NIL Deal to Stay in Columbia

South Carolina wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs signs NIL deal with the Garnet Trust to remain in Columbia next season.

The Garnet Trust is the official NIL partner of Gamecocks Athletics. On Thursday, the Collective announced Jacobs’ return to the Gamecocks with a new NIL deal.

The 6-foot-0 and 190 pound reciever our of Fort Pierce, Florida joined South Carolina after transferring from Florida State last offseason. The redhisrt freshman caught 12 passes for 181 yards in 2024.

Jacobs’ announcement comes two days after senior Jared Brown decided to return to Columbia as well.

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SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year commits to South Carolina

Published

17 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year commits to South Carolina

Grambling transfer linebacker Andrew Jones emerged as one of South Carolina’s top targets from the moment he entered the portal — today the Gamecocks got their guy.

Jones — the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Co-Defensive Player of the Year — has committed to South Carolina out of the portal and will step into a major role in the Gamecocks’ defense in 2025.

Jones, ranked the No. 9 linebacker in the portal, reported offers from Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, USF, and Georgia State, while he heard from over 20 schools.

South Carolina Transfer Portal Resources:

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder tallied 122.0 total tackles (57 solo), 20.5 tackles of loss, 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown this season.

Jones will be expected to bring that productivity to a linebacker room that loses its top three contributors, Debo Williams, Demetrius Knight Jr., and Bam Martin-Scott, from this year’s squad.

Jones, who has one year of eligibility left, previously spent time at Memphis.

The Marrero, La. native is South Carolina’s fifth transfer portal pledge, joining OL Nick Sharpe (Wake Forest), EDGE Jaylen Brown (Missouri), TE Jordan Dingle (Kentucky), and DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Texas A&M).

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