Women's Basketball Opens SEC Play Against South Carolina
1/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's basketball team (7-8) will dive into SEC action, opening conference play against South Carolina (11-4) on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 6:00 p.m. from Coleman Coliseum. Alabama is coming off a 61-51 victory over SE Louisiana and has won four out of its last five games. South Carolina handed Savannah State a 86-47 loss in its last time out.
Alabama and South Carolina square off for the 25th time in program history with the Tide holding a 14-10 all-time advantage. The Gamecocks have won the last three and seven of the last nine in the series. South Carolina won the last meeting between the teams in Tuscaloosa 67-48 and took last year's contest 95-35 in Columbia, S.C. Alabama is 7-4 against South Carolina in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum. UA head coach Stephany Smith is 1-3 in her career against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina enters Coleman Coliseum with an 11-4 overall record and a 2-2 mark away from Columbia, S.C. After a 2006-07 season that ended with no Gamecocks averaging double-figure points, three players are currently at the mark this season. Freshman Jordan Jones leads the way with 13.1 ppg, while junior Brionna Dickerson is just behind with 12.1 ppg and Demetress Adams completes the group with 11.9 ppg. Seniors Lakesha Tolliver and Ilona Burgrova are on the verge of adding to the list, scoring 9.7 and 9.2 ppg, respectively.
South Carolina is seventh in the nation with 6.53 blocked shots per game, a number that leads the SEC. South Carolina senior Lakesha Tolliver leads the SEC in blocks per game with 2.50, a number that ranks her 20th in the nation. USC has held opponents to just 34.7 percent shooting this season to rank 16th in the nation and third in the SEC. South Carolina finished the 2006-07 season with an 18-15 overall record and an appearance in the WNIT but lost four starters and welcome six newcomers.
Alabama concluded its non-conference schedule with a 61-51 victory over SE Louisiana. The Tide have finished off its non-conference schedule in impressive fashion the last two season under head coach Stephanie Smith. Alabama rallied off four wins in its last five contests to set up for SEC play. Last season UA rallied of seven wins in the final 10 games of the non-conference season.
Alabama sophomore point guard Dedrea Magee closed out the non-conference slate on the right foot. The Picayune, Miss. native tallied a career-high 16 points in the 10-point win over Southeastern Louisiana. Magee shot 6-of-9 from the floor and recorded three steals. Against East Tennessee State, the 5-8 guard tallied 12 points and handed out five assists. Over the final two-game span, Magee averaged 14 points and shot 73 percent from the floor, including a 60 percent clip from beyond teh arc. On the season, Magee is second on the team in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game and paces the Tide with 57 assists.
Alabama will continue SEC by taking its first road trip on the conference season. Alabama will play Florida in Gainesville at 1:00 p.m. from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Next week the Tide will host the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks on Jan. 17 and then head off to Athens, Ga. to face the Bulldogs on Jan. 20.
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