No. 1/1 South Carolina is set for its fourth-straight NCAA Regional Final game, facing No. 12/15 Oregon State in the Albany 1 Regional on Sun., Mar. 31, at 1 p.m. on ABC.

The Oregon State Series
The Gamecocks lead the overall series against the Beavers 2-1 with both wins coming in the NCAA Tournament.  All three games have come in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), and all three have been at neutral sites.

In the most recent meeting, then-No. 6 South Carolina topped Oregon State 59-42 in San Antonio, Texas, in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament (Mar. 23). The series opened with a 78-69 South Carolina victory in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament (Mar. 25), playing in Seattle, Wash.

The Beavers’ lone win came on Nov. 23, 2019, in Vancouver, Canada, when then-No. 9 Oregon State defeated then-No. 13 South Carolina 70-68.

Gamecock Notables

• The Gamecocks are in their eighth NCAA Regional Final game, including each of the last four years, with a 5-2 record. Under Dawn Staley, their record in Elite Eight games is 5-1, including wins in the last three.

• South Carolina’s 39.0 bench points per NCAA Tournament game lead the event this season. For the season, the Gamecocks’ 33.8 bench points per game are second in the nation.

• The Gamecocks have yielded just 8.1 second-chance points per game this season, and they’ve cut that to 4.7 per game in the NCAA Tournament.

• In eight wins over ranked opponents this season, four Gamecocks average double-figure points – Te-Hina Paopao (13.8), Kamilla Cardoso (13.7), MiLaysia Fulwiley (10.6), Chloe Kitts (10.1) – and three others average at least 7.8 points.

• All-American Kamilla Cardoso’s 17.0 points per NCAA Tournament game lead the Gamecocks and have come on a sterling 73.7 percent shooting.

• MiLaysia Fulwiley’s 12.2 points per game are second on the team and have come in just 18.7 minutes per game. Her 25.8 points per 40 minutes ranks 10th among all Div. I freshmen and trails just JuJu Watkins of Southern Cal (31.1) and Audi Crooks of Iowa State (29.5) among Power 5 programs.

• With two 3s on Friday, Te-Hina Paopao moved into sixth in the program record book with 81 this season.

• Raven Johnson scored her NCAA Tournament career-high 14 points Friday night, including 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range. In eight games against ranked opponents, Johnson averages 9.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting, 5.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds, which ranks second on the team.

• Sania Feagin is the Gamecocks’ second-leading rebounder in this NCAA Tournament at 7.3 per game.

All About Balance
South Carolina’s success this season has been built on its balance in all aspects of the game. Ranked third in the nation with 86.1 points per game as a team, the highest ranking individual scorer is 229th. Nine of the 10 Gamecocks on the active roster average at least 15 minutes per game.

The Gamecocks are the only team ranked among the nation’s top 25 in both scoring offense (rd, 86.1 ppg) and defense (17th, 55.9 ppg).

South Carolina is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (.498) and first in field goal percentage defense (.320). In SEC action, the Gamecocks led the league in all four categories – 84.3 ppg, 57.9 ppg allowed – .491 field goal percentage, .334 field goal percentage allowed.

The Gamecock offense is balanced as well with 53.0 percent of points coming in the paint (45.6 ppg). The guards are scoring 53.4 percent of the points (45.9 ppg). South Carolina averages 42.5 points in the first half and 43.5 in the second.

Glass Cleaners
The Gamecocks continue to dominate the glass, ranking fifth in the nation with 46.1 rebounds per game. According to Her Hoop Stats, South Carolina is fourth in the nation in rebounding percentage, securing 57.6 percent of the opportunities actually rebounded.

Their offensive glass work is strong, ranking sixth in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at .404 (Her Hoop Stats). The Gamecocks’ 14.3 offensive boards have yielded 15.4 second-chance points, turning each offensive board into an average of 1.07 points. Against ranked opponents, that efficiency improves to 1.25 points per offensive board.

Three Gamecocks are among the SEC’s top-20 rebounders, led by Kamilla Cardoso’s 9.4 average, which ranks sixth in the SEC. Ashlyn Watkins stands 12th in the league with 6.9 rebounds per game, and Chloe Kitts is 20th with a 6.1 average.

Cardoso’s 3.6 offensive boards per game are third in the SEC, and she scores on 41.7 percent of those rebounds. Her 4.1 offensive boards per league game also ranked third. Watkins grabs 2.6 offensive boards per game (11th), including 2.6 per SEC outing (10th).

Three for All
Long the Achilles heel for the Gamecocks, outside shooting has been a steady weapon for this season’s team. The Gamecocks lead the nation in accuracy, hitting 40.0 percent from 3-point range behind the efficiency of Te-Hina Paopao’s 47.6 percent, which leads the nation.

South Carolina’s 3-point volume has gone up as well, hitting 6.7 per game, including four games of double-digit made 3s. While the program record for made 3s per game is 9.2 set in 1993-94, the Staley era high is 5.8 in 2018-19.

Paopao’s 2.4 made 3s per game are second in the SEC and include six games of at least four made 3s, including a season-high five in two games. Her 81 made 3s this season are tied for sixth in program history. She needs one more to move into a tie for fourth and three more to tie for third.