How to watch, what to know as No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball hosts Arkansas
South Carolina returns home for its biggest SEC challenge so far.
The Gamecocks will take on Arkansas on Sunday at 3 p.m. inside Colonial Life Arena. Arkansas is 4-2 in the league, with the only losses coming against No. 3 LSU.
USC is coming off a 48-point win against Vanderbilt, winning 96-48 thanks to its fifth 90-point scoring game of the season. The Razorbacks lost a close one to LSU on Thursday, 79-76.
The last time the two teams went head to head was in the 2022 SEC Tournament, a matchup the Gamecocks won 76-54.
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. ARKANSAS GAME INFO
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (17-4, 4-2 SEC) vs South Carolina Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC)
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN2
Stream: via ESPN app/ESPN.com
GAMECOCKS GO FOR 20-0
South Carolina is out to its best start since the 2015-16 season, when it started 22-0.
The team has won 25 games in a row, carrying over from the six-game national championship run at the end of last season. And it’s doing so with its scoring and its defense.
South Carolina is averaging 82.4 points per game — good for ninth in Division-I basketball. The team scoring is balanced, with six players averaging at least 6.2 points per game. The Gamecocks have had six different players lead the team in scoring in its 19 games, with leading-scorer Zia Cooke doing so nine times.
A lot of the offensive success has come from its paint scoring, using the size of its frontcourt along with the penetration and passing ability from the guards to get easy shots down low. USC averages 46 points in the paint, scoring 60 or more in that area in five games this season.
Defensively, the team has been equally as dominant. The Gamecocks allow a nation-leading 45.7 points per game, an improvement from its 50.7 mark from last season.
The team creates opportunities for itself with the steals it gets, racking up 8.3 steals per game and forcing 16.2 turnovers an outing. South Carolina far and away leads the country with 9.9 blocked shots a game, more than three clear of the next team.
CLOSE CALLS FOR ARKANSAS
Arkansas has played in single-possession games in each of its past two outings.
The team won on a buzzer-beater against Vanderbilt thanks to a deep 3-pointer from Makayla Daniels. It was narrowly defeated on Thursday by LSU on the road, losing 79-76.
Like South Carolina, the Razorbacks have already played in an overtime game this season — a one-point loss to South Florida last month. In total, Arkansas’ played in seven games decided by single digits and are 4-3 in those games.
The Gamecocks have played in three such games, winning all three.
The Razorbacks are led by senior forward Erynn Barnum, who’s having a career-best season across the board. She’s averaging 16 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Barnum also leads the SEC in field-goal percentage at 61.1%.
She’s able to get up and down the court and is productive on both sides of the ball, so the Gamecocks will look to key in on her.
Arkansas’ guards like to shoot it from 3-point range. Both Daniels and Samara Spencer attempt at least 4.5 per game. The Razorbacks have four players averaging 11.5 points per game or more, and three of them are guards.
QUICK NOTES
Aliyah Boston is one double-double away from breaking the program record for the most in a career. She sits at 72 and has recorded a double-double in each of her last four games.
South Carolina has won 35 consecutive games at home and has scored at least 70 points in all 10 of its games in Colonial Life Arena this season.
Arkansas is 5-1 on the road this year, with the lone loss coming against LSU on Thursday.
The Razorbacks briefly spent time in The AP top 25 this year and was one of the last undefeated teams in women’s basketball before losing to Oregon.
USC is 10th in the nation in field-goal percentage at 48.1%.
South Carolina and Arkansas both have two players in the SEC’s top 10 in rebounding.
GAMECOCKS AND RAZORBACKS PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aliyah Boston, F, South Carolina: Boston has averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds in her last five games, a big boost for the senior after being held to single digits in the first two conference games. She continues to be a defensive stalwart, averaging two blocks a game and altering even more shots.
Zia Cooke, G, South Carolina: Cooke leads South Carolina with 15.4 points per game, and also leads the team with 35 3-point makes. Her consistency has been crucial for the Gamecocks, providing scoring lifts in the times USC needs offense. She’s scored 20 or more points three times for the Gamecocks this year.
Erynn Barnum, F, Arkansas: Barnum’s career-best season has the Razorbacks at 17-4, and its her well-rounded play that’s gotten them there. She’s averaging 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in six conference games.
Samara Spencer, G, Arkansas: Spencer is Arkansas’ second-leading scorer with 15.3 points per game. The sophomore can be a streaky shooter, but has eight games with at least three 3-point makes. She leads the team with 4.6 assists per game.
