 "Photo: Jason Steelman/The Gamecock")
On the heels of back-to-back rebuilding seasons, USC's women's basketball team will return for the 2005-2006 season with a plethora of returning talent.
With last season's entire roster expected to return along with heralded newcomers Brionna Dickerson and Demetress Adams, the Gamecocks should be able to build on last season's late success.
In what could become one of the conference's best backcourts in the next few seasons, the Gamecocks are solid at the guard positions, led by former Freshman All-SEC member Lauren Simms.
Junior Lea Fabbri returns from a breakthrough season in which she started 18 games at point guard and saw all her statistics and shooting percentages increase. Redshirt junior Angela Hunter took over the point when Fabbri took temporary leave from the team for personal reasons, becoming an instant threat from the perimeter and logging key minutes.
Simms was the lone Gamecock to average double-digits in scoring, logging 11.8 points per game.
A knee injury against Alabama on Feb. 20 ended her season, causing junior Stacy Booker to take over as leader for the improving squad, including a 19-point, nine-rebound performance against Alabama for USC's first conference victory. Booker averaged 37 minutes, 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds during Carolina's final six games. Junior Shannel Harris rounds out the backcourt as the defensive stopper and perimeter threat, averaging a steal every two minutes.
One of the top shot-blocking teams in the nation, Carolina has plenty of height to match any team in the post. Led by junior Melanie Johnson's 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Johnson, junior Iva Sliskovic and sophomore Lakeshia Tolliver led the post for the record-breaking team, as Carolina posted 167 blocks on the season, breaking the previous record of 115 in the 2001-2002 season.
Sliskovic, the leading scorer and rebounder from her freshman season, came on late last season but finished as a top player, scoring in double figures in Carolina's last four games, highlighted by a 16-point, 15-rebound effort against Kentucky in which she was 8-for-8 from the field, a school record.
Olga Gritsaeva returns as the lone senior for the Gamecocks. She became one of the tallest guards in the country at 6-foot-4 after converting to a wing player to allow playing time for all of the post players.
After leading Russia to a 5-3 record in the European Championships during the summer, expect Gritsaeva to log more minutes as a combination player. Sophomore Ilona Burgrova started 18 games at center for Carolina and became a key contributor as a true freshman, including making the All-tournament team at the Carolina Classic. Junior Larissa Kulscar provides a physical inside presence and does a lot in her time, shooting 43 percent from the field.
The 2005-2006 season will be a treat for fans, as Carolina will play host to five NCAA Tournament teams, including Sweet 16 participant Minnesota. The Gamecocks will play an exhibition against Everyone's Internet, a team of WNBA members, on Nov. 14, followed by the regular-season opener against High Point on Nov. 18.
Be the first to comment on this article!