Small gym a familiar feeling for Gamecocks

They’ve played in small arenas before small crowds before. It’s the life of playing women’s basketball – often, crowds will be in the triple digits instead of the quadruples, and definitely not the 15,000-plus South Carolina has built its home crowds into.

So with Clemson playing its home games in Jervey Gym, the school’s volleyball facility, this year while Littlejohn Coliseum is being renovated, the No. 2 Gamecocks aren’t fazed. They’re used to it – and expect to see a sizable contingent of their own colors overlapping the Tigers’ orange, despite a Clemson system that had some fans seeing red.

“I don’t know how many picked up the vouchers, but I know we’ll have a presence there,” coach Dawn Staley said on Tuesday.

Because Jervey seats only 2,000, the Tigers announced women’s basketball games will have free admission this year. For games against high-profile opponents (USC, Florida State, Duke), a voucher system was implemented – admission is still free, but fans had to pick up a ticket voucher beforehand.

Vouchers aren’t distributed on gameday. Fans who wanted to go to the USC game had to pick up a voucher at either of the Tigers’ first two regular-season games. The Gamecocks’ faithful, who packed Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium for a game last year, were more than a little peeved, but many made the trek to Clemson last week to get a voucher for themselves and their friends. Staley estimated the team gets around 100 tickets for family as well.

The crowd shouldn’t be a problem. The gym might be.

“When we played down in the Bahamas last year, it was a really small gym,” Staley said. “I just don’t think it benefited our style of play. Syracuse played zone, a collapsing zone, so the space just seemed a lot smaller.”

There won’t be a lot of room on baseline or sideline to safely tumble to the floor. Staley might be able to say instructions directly into Khadijah Sessions’ ear while she’s playing. Cascading sound might make communication during the game difficult.

But it’s still basketball, and probably against an overwhelmed opponent. Former Staley teammate Audra Smith has had a rough start to her third season at Clemson, losing an exhibition to Anderson University by 24 points and falling to Coastal Carolina last week.

Staley has told her former Virginia roommate to keep her chin up, as she had some of the same experiences at USC. “I just let her know that a marathon isn’t won in the first mile,” Staley said. “It takes two steps back and one step forward, and then it may be three steps back. But you have to get players in there who really love the game.”

USC, playing the first of a five-game road swing, has no problem with that. The Gamecocks’ enthusiasm is rampant, and following a 2-0 start to the season, including over No. 6 Ohio State, they’re ready to keep their streak going.

“It’s the same as if we’re playing in a packed house,” Tiffany Mitchell said. “We’re just away.”