Lady Tigers To Play Host To In-State Rival South Carolina On Saturday

Dec. 20, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – Palmetto State native Lele Hardy and the Clemson women’s basketball team will play host to in-state rival South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Tigers (7-6) and Gamecocks (8-3) are scheduled for a 2:00 pm tip from Littlejohn Coliseum.

Hardy leads the Clemson squad with a 6.8 rebounding average and was just one rebound shy of a double-double in last year’s contest at South Carolina with 12 points and nine boards. D’Lesha Lloyd, a senior from Columbia, is averaging a team-high 10.3 points per game with a 5.3 rebounding figure.

Fans will enjoy a special visit from Santa Claus at Saturday’s game, while those not in attendance can follow the action with the Clemson Tiger Sports Properties network broadcast of the game. Don Munson will call the play-by-play with www.clemsontigers.com.

Scouting The Gamecocks South Carolina has won five of its last six games, suffering its only loss in the month of December at #2 Connecticut. For the year, the Gamecocks own an 8-3 record.

Junior forward Demetress Adams leads South Carolina in both scoring and rebounding with 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She also owns a team-best 30 steals with 18 blocked shots. Jordan Jones, Brionna Dickerson and Lakesha Tolliver are also averaging in double figures for the Gamecocks, while freshman guard Samone Kennedy has tallied 43 assists for the season.

Overall, South Carolina is posting 71.0 points per game with a +11.8 scoring margin. The Gamecocks are also winning the battle on the boards, while shooting a .441 figure from the field.

A Brief Series History Saturday’s contest between the Lady Tigers and Gamecocks will be the 53rd meeting in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 inaugural season of Clemson women’s basketball. The Lady Tigers hold a 31-21 all-time advantage, but South Carolina has won the last two match-ups, including a 80-48 decision last year in Columbia, SC.

Since the formation of the Clemson program, the Lady Tigers have met just two teams in every year of their existence. South Carolina is one; North Carolina is the other. Clemson and the Gamecocks met at least twice a season until 1991-92 when the teams began just one yearly meeting. The Lady Tigers won the first four games in the series and have run off streaks of six (1982-1986) and seven (1995-2002) straight over the years.

Of their 52 match-ups, only one has gone into overtime, the 2004-05 contest that Clemson went on to win, 87-79. South Carolina forfeited the first of three meetings in the 1980-81 season, and the teams split the other two games that year.

Familiar Foes Clemson’s 52 games against South Carolina rank in the top 10 for most meetings with an opponent and are the most for a non-conference school.The Lady Tigers have played NC State the most, a total of 72 times since the 1976-77 season. Clemson’s 31 victories over the Gamecocks are the fourth most for the Lady Tigers over a single team. Clemson has defeated Wake Forest most often, 43 times to be exact.