Nov. 16, 2007

		Game Notes
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Series Notes
While the Bulls and Gamecocks have never met, South Carolina has played four other schools in the Mid-American Conference and is perfect against the league. The Gamecocks have topped both Ohio and Northern Illinois three times and beaten Akron and Bowling Green once each. The last Mid-American team the Gamecocks played was Ohio, posting a 77-49 win on Dec. 15, 2006, in Columbia.

Scouting the Bulls
Buffalo was 10-19 last season and finished fifth in the MAC with a 5-11 league record. At 2-0 this season, head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald returns four starters from that squad and, with five seniors, has an experienced team for the first time in her three-year tenure at the school. Senior Stephanie Bennett is tied for the team lead with 12.5 points per game, including 14 in Thursday night’s win at Presbyterian. Already a 1,000-point scorer, senior Heather Turner is tied for Bennett in the scoring column and is second on the club with 9.5 rebounds per outing. Junior Jamie Schiebner paces the team on the glass with 10 rebounds per game to go with 9.0 points per contest.

Last Time Out
The home team got clutch performances from the hometown duo as South Carolina scrambled from 16 down to top Virginia 66-64 Thursday night at the Colonial Center. Senior Lakesha Tolliver capped the 25-7 run with the game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining. Junior Brionna Dickerson netted a game-high 27 points, topping her career best of 17 set in the season opener. Her offensive output included five straight 3-pointers to keep the Gamecocks close in the first half and 10 game-changing points during the comeback in the final seven minutes of the contest.

Déjà Vu
South Carolina fans may think they have discovered time travel when they look at the Buffalo bench as both head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald and assistant coach Kelly Morrone sat on the home team’s bench the last time they were in the Colonial Center. Hill-MacDonald was a South Carolina assistant to Susan Walvius for four seasons before taking the head job at Buffalo in 2005. She was part of the staff that guided the Gamecocks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003, including a trip to the 2002 Elite Eight. On the court during those successful years, Morrone was a key guard for the Gamecocks from 1999-2000 to 2003-04. She tied for the team lead in scoring in 2003-04 with 11.7 ppg and was the top 3-point shooter at 40.7 percent.

Ticket Information
Adults are admitted for $7. Youth under the age of 18 are admitted for $3. Season tickets are $40. For more information or to order tickets, contact the South Carolina Ticket Office toll free at 800-4SC-FANS or locally at 803-777-4274. Tickets can also be ordered via the athletics web siteGamecocksOnline.com.

Suddenly Susan
Head coach Susan Walvius enters her 11th season as the Gamecocks’ mentor with a 151-144 record. She has led South Carolina to two NCAA Tournaments and two WNITs, including an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2001-02. Her players have also excelled in the classroom. In 2006-07, 10 Gamecocks appeared on the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll. In the last four years, South Carolina has placed more student-athletes on that list than any other school.

A South Carolina Win Would …

• Put the Gamecocks at 3-0 to open the season for the first time since 2002-03 when they won their first eight games and finished the season in the NCAA Tournament
• Give the Gamecocks a three-game win streak for the first time since winning five straight from Dec. 20, 2006 to Jan. 1, 2007
• Improve the Gamecocks’ record to 9-0 in games played against teams in the Mid-American Conference
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 103-47 in regular-season games played against non-conference opponents
• Improve Susan Walvius’ record to 70-11 in regular-season non-conference home games

Old Number, New Beginning
After a modest beginning to her career wearing No. 32, junior Brionna Dickerson went back to the No. 23 jersey that saw her score 3,400 points in high school. Proof that “A Change Would Do You Good,” as Sheryl Crow has sung, Dickerson’s offense has exploded this season. Averaging 1.8 points and 6.1 points during her freshman and sophomore campaigns, respectively, Dickerson paces the Gamecocks with 22 ppg early this season. She opened with a career-best 17 points against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 6 then poured in 27 to guide the Gamecocks past Virginia on Nov. 15. Hitting just nine 3-pointers all of last season, she was 5-of-7 from long range against Virginia, including a perfect 5-of-5 in the first half.

Fresh Frosh
With six true freshmen on the roster this season, rookie guard Jordan Jones set the tone early. Behind 15 points in the first 13 minutes against Saint Francis, including four 3-pointers, Jones was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week for the period ending Nov. 11. Two other youngsters are having an immediate impact on the team. Courtney Newton leads the club with 10 assists, while Samone Kennedy is third on the team in assists (6) and fifth in scoring (8.0 ppg).

Ms. Clutch
When the game is on the line, toss out the percentages and get the ball to Lakesha Tolliver. The senior began her reputation last season when, despite a 63.6 free throw shooting percentage, she drained three free throws with eight seconds left to tie Mississippi State, giving the Gamecocks the chance to pick up the overtime win. This season, on Nov. 15 against Virginia, South Carolina had one shot to win the game. Tolliver, who was 3-of-8 in the game and 6-of-17 on the season, drilled a 14-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left to cap off a dramatic 25-7 run over the final 6:46 of the contest.

Double Double-Double
In the season opener against Saint Francis (Pa.), a pair of Gamecocks posted double-doubles for the second time in two seasons. Forwards Lakesha Tolliver and Demetress Adams accomplished the feat against the Red Flash, while Melanie Johnson and Ilona Burgrova turned the trick at Wilmington on Dec. 30, 2006. Prior to last season’s effort, the last Gamecock duo to record double-doubles was Iva Sliskovic and Cristina Ciocan against Southern Utah on Dec. 5, 2003.

High Fliers
With 93 points against Saint Francis (Pa.) in the season opener, the Gamecocks put up their highest offensive output since hanging 95 on Alabama on Jan. 14, 2007. South Carolina also won that game by 60 points, the largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent in the program’s history.