CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team begins its 2020-21 season on Friday as it heads to Clemson to take on the Tigers.
Matchup: Presbyterian (0-0) at Clemson (1-0)
Date: Friday, November 27
Time: 5:00 pm
Site: Littlejohn Coliseum (Clemson, S.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.GoBlueHose.com
Twitter: @bluehosewbb
Notes
Opening Tip...
Presbyterian College opens the 2020-21 season with a pair of in-state road tilts, after its original season opener at Kennesaw State was canceled due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the KSU program. The Blue Hose begin the season on Friday at Clemson, then head to Greenville to face Furman on Dec. 1. PC enters the new season on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Winthrop 88-54 in last year's regular season finale and then winning at Longwood, 82-73, in the first round of the Big South Championship. Due to COVID-19, the remainder of the tournament was canceled, meaning the Blue Hose ended the season with a win for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, when they beat Charleston Southern in the season finale.
For Openers...
The Blue Hose are 21-22 all-time in season openers, but just 2-11 since moving to Division I for the 2007-08 campaign. This season marks the second time in program history that Presbyterian will open the season at Clemson. The other occasion was a 49-46 Blue Hose victory to begin the 2012-13 season, which kicked off a DI era-best 19-win campaign for PC. Presbyterian's other season-opening victory since moving to Division I came last year, when it took down another in-state opponent, South Carolina State, 70-49 in Orangeburg.
Scouting the Tigers...
Clemson began its 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday afternoon with an 83-43 win over Furman, putting the game away with a 20-0 fourth quarter run. In her collegiate debut, freshman guard Gabby Elliott led the Tigers with a game-high 23 points, while also chipping in six rebounds. Clemson holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series, and 2-1 since PC moved to DI in 2007-08. The two teams have not met since the Blue Hose beat the Tigers 49-46 on Nov. 11, 2012.
Defense Spearheads Improvement...
In her second season at the helm, Presbyterian head coach Alaura Sharp guided the Blue Hose to a 12-18 overall record and 7-13 mark in the Big South. It was a five-win improvement over 2018-19, and three-win improvement in conference play. PC also won its first round game in the Big South Championship for the second straight season, and reached the quarterfinal stage of the tournament for the eighth consecutive year. Defense was a big reason for the Blue Hose improvement, as opponents averaged 6.2 fewer points per game (from 65.5 in 2018-19 down to 59.3). PC's opponent field goal percentage dropped from .414 to .394 and opponent three-point percentage from .336 to .300. The Blue Hose also forced an average of 1.7 more turnovers per game, turning their opponents over an average of 17.5 times per contest.
All-Conference Honors...
Trinity Johnson (Honorable Mention) and Tionna Carter (All-Freshman) both earned postseason recognition from the Big South Conference at the end of last season. Johnson, who was also selected to the Big South Preseason All-Conference Second Team earlier this fall, led PC with 15.2 points and 3.7 assists per game, finishing sixth in the conference in both categories. She also finished second in the Big South in steals (75), and led the league in both free throws made (130) and attempted (180). Carter was second on PC in both scoring (8.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg), and averaged 10.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg in conference play.
Back in Blue...
Coach Sharp brings back four starters from last year's squad, with Tionna Carter (30 GP/19 GS), Jade Compton (30 GP/28 GS), Trinity Johnson (29 GP/29 GS) and Tess Santos (30 GP/28 GS) all back in the fold. In total, the Blue Hose welcome back 10 letterwinners, and have 77 percent of their scoring back from 2019-20, including the team's top three scorers from a year ago in Johnson (15.2 ppg), Carter (8.9 ppg) and Compton (8.2 ppg).
New Kids on the Block...
Coach Sharp has brought five newcomers into the fold for the 2020-21 season, four freshmen and one transfer. Center Aaliyah Austin (Satsuma, Ala.) and guards Sabrina Belquist (Los Gatos, Calif.), Maleia Bracone (Anderson, S.C.) and Kelsey Brown (Simpsonville, S.C.) make up PC's incoming freshman class, while sophomore guard Nyah Willis (San Jose, Calif.) joins the Blue Hose as a transfer from Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.
Johnson's Record-Setting Year...
Trinity Johnson had a record-setting season for the Blue Hose in 2019-20. Her 75 steals, 134 free throws made and 180 free throws attempted were all single-season records for PC's DI era. The Hopkins, S.C., native also finished with the second-highest single-season point total (440) and scoring average (15.2) in the program's DI era. Through her first two seasons, Johnson is averaging 11.5 points per contest, the highest career average in PC's DI era. She has also made 233 free throws as a Blue Hose, fourth-most in the DI era, and 95 shy of Dria David's record of 328, set between 2009-13.
100 3's Club...
Two Blue Hose begin the 2020-21 campaign within striking distance of making the 100th three-pointer of their collegiate careers. Junior guard Shamani Stafford (92) sits eight shy of the milestone, while senior forward Tess Santos (87) needs 13 triples to reach 100. Seven other Blue Hose have reached 100 career three-pointers in the program's DI era, with Karlee Taylor making a record 264 from 2010-14.
