ORANGEBURG, SC – The SC State (1-7) women will conclude their pre-holiday schedule Sunday when Coach Doug Robertson's team meets 10th-ranked South Carolina (10-1) in a 1 p.m. nonconference contest Sunday at Colonia Life Arena.
The contest will be televised live by Fox Sports South (check local listings) and will also be broadcast on Bulldog campus radio station WSSB (90.3 FM). Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 youth (17 and under). Sunday's contest will be the final game of a six-game Lady Bulldog road trip that has spanned 26 calendar days.
The trek started Nov. 26 at the University of Georgia. Following Sunday's game, SC State will observe a holiday break before returning to action Dec. 30 in its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference home opener against Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Lady Bulldogs will be trying to snap a five-game losing streak and notch their first road win of the season against the taller and more-talented 10-1 Gamecocks, whose only loss was a 74-66 setback to #13-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 18. USC owns a 24-9 advantage in the series and has won 20 in a row, including a 65-45 victory last December at Colonial Life Arena.
Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs have won just once this season – a 43-41 home triumph over Presbyterian Nov. 21. Robertson's team is coming off a 73-63 loss at Jacksonville (AL) State on Thursday. Leading the way for SC State will be junior guard
Kourtney Williams (18.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg), redshirt sophomore guard
Mykala Jones (10.5 ppg), graduate guard
Cabriel Duren (10.1 ppg, 4.1 apg), and junior center
Persephone Goodwin (6.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg). Rounding out the starting lineup will be senior forward
Cherisha Floyd, who was added to the roster three games ago and is averaging 7.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg.
Hall of Fame Coach Dawn Staley's team is spearheaded by sophomore guard Tiffany Mitchell (15.7 ppg, 4.0 apg), junior forward Aleighsa Welch (14.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg), and 6-4 junior center Elem Ibiam (11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Starting point guard Khadijah Sessions will miss her second straight contest after suffering an injury in the UNC loss.
