Gamecocks Host Missouri on Senior Night Thursday – University of South Carolina Athletics

Gameday Information
Doors Open: 6:30 p.m. | 7 p.m. for Fast Break Pass
Senior Night: Senior Night ceremony will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.
SEC Food Fight: Collecting canned foods outside Colonial Life Arena to donate to USC CommUnity Shop
Teddy Bear Toss: Bring new or gently used stuffed animals (unboxed, no battery packs) to toss onto the court at halftime to donate to local charities

South Carolina Gamecocks
Head Coach: Dawn Staley
Top Scorer: Joyce Edwards (20.1)
Top Rebounder: Madina Okot (10.6)

Missouri Tigers
Head Coach: Kellie Harper
Top Scorer: Grace Slaughter (18.9)
Top Rebounder: Grace Slaughter (6.7)

Gamecock Notables

• The Gamecock offense is second in the SEC with 83.7 points per game for the season and is third in league play with 81.5 points per game. South Carolina leads the league in field goal percentage overall (.512) and in league play (.479).

• South Carolina is fourth in the nation with 6.3 blocks per game, but its defensive dominance – leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (.335) and fourth in scoring defense (56.0 ppg) – is anchored by point guard Raven Johnson. Ranked opponents have shot just 38.4 percent with her on the court compared to 42.4 percent when she’s on the bench. Their 3-point shooting goes from 26.6 percent with her on the court to 36.4 percent without her.

• South Carolina followed one of its worst free throw shooting performances at Alabama with its best against Ole Miss, shooting a perfect 13-of-13 from the stripe.

• The Gamecocks allow nearly 10 fewer points per game to SEC foes at home (54.6) than on the road (64.4).

• Senior center Madina Okot is among the nation’s top 25 in double-doubles (18, 3rd), rebounds per game (10.6, 14th), field goal percentage (.586, 17th) and offensive rebounds per game (3.7, 23rd). She is among the SEC and USBWA’s Players of the Week this week after her 16.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game helped lead the Gamecocks to the SEC regular-season title.

• National player of the year candidate Joyce Edwards is 18th in the nation in scoring at 20.1 points per game. She has scored at least 20 points 17 times this season, which ranks eighth in program single-season history.  Eight of those 20-point games have been against SEC foes, and she’s hit the mark four times in her 11 games against ranked teams.

• Senior Ta’Niya Latson is among the SEC’s top 15 in five different stats, including ranking 11th with 1.9 steals per game. Offensively she is 16th in the league with 14.8 points per game, seventh with a .502 field goal percentage, ninth in free throw percentage (.789) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2).

• Sophomore point guard Maddy McDaniel leads the nation with a 5.4 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Her 3.5 mark in SEC play leads the league.

• Freshman Alicia Tournebize has been finding her footing over the last five games, averaging 6.0 points on 61.9 percent shooting in that stretch, which included four games against ranked opponents.

By the Numbers
10 – South Carolina has won 10 SEC Regular-Season Championships in the last 13 seasons.

+28.0 – The Gamecocks outscored their top-25 opponents last week by 28.0 points per game.

53.3 – Madina Okot is shooting 53.3 percent from 3-point range this season, including perfect 5-of-5 from the arc last week.

The Missouri Series
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series with Missouri 12-4, including a 7-0 record at home.

The two teams last met on Jan. 2, 2025, in Columbia, Mo., with then-No. 2 South Carolina posting an 83-52 victory. The Gamecocks led by 10 at halftime and compounded their lead from there, shooting 59.3 percent in the second half. Four players finished in double-figure points with three of those coming off the bench

Staley in the SEC
Head coach Dawn Staley’s 10 SEC regular-season championships trail only Pat Summitt’s 16 in league history, and she has joined Summitt as the only coaches to win five consecutive SEC regular-season titles (2022-26). Staley’s seven SEC Coach of the Year awards trail Summitt’s league record by just one. Staley’s 227 SEC regular-season wins are the most among active league coaches and third all-time – behind just Summitt (Tennessee, 306) and Andy Landers (Georgia, 273). She was the second-fastest to the 200-win mark in league history with her 255 games trailing Summitt’s mark of 229. Staley’s .799 SEC winning percentage (227-57) is second only to Summitt (.874) among coaches in the league more than five seasons. Staley owns the SEC record for consecutive regular-season conference victories with a 57-game streak that began in the 2021-22 season and ended in 2024-25.

Efficiency Report
A focus for South Carolina is efficiency – creating its own and disrupting its opponents’. They are among the best in the nation at both – ranking third in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.512) and leading the country in field goal percentage defense (.335). The Gamecocks lead the nation in offensive points per possession (1.218) and are second in defensive PPP (0.709), per Synergy.

Individually, three Gamecocks are among the SEC’s top 10 percentage shooters. Joyce Edwards leads the group in fourth at 59.6 percent, which ranks 11th in the nation, and Madina Okot is just behind at 58.6 percent to rank fifth in the SEC and 17th  in the country. Ta’Niya Latson’s 502 percent accuracy comes in seventh in the SEC

From 3-point range, the Gamecocks are fourth in the nation with an SEC-best .379 percentage. Tessa Johnson is among the nation’s most accurate outside shooters with her SEC-best 45.5 percent accuracy ranking eighth 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.

Glass Work
South Carolina is 10th in the nation in rebounding margin (+10.0) and 11th in rebounding average (42.7). They have corralled 40.2 percent of their missed shots for an offensive rebounding percentage that ranks 16th.

Senior Madina Okot is 14th in the nation with an SEC-best 10.6 rebounds per game, and her 3.7 offensive boards per game are third in SEC and 23rd in the nation.  She has been in double figures in rebounds 20 times.

Sophomore Joyce Edwards is next in line at 6.2 rebounds per game (19th in SEC), including 6.6 per SEC outing (15th). Her 2.6 offensive boards per game (15th in SEC) include 2.5 per SEC game, which ranks 13th.

Senior Raven Johnson leads the guards with 4.2 rebounds per game, including a 4.5 average in league play.