Cougars Open 2020-21 Season at Top-Ranked South Carolina

Wednesday, November 25

Columbia, S.C.

12:00 PM

College of Charleston

#1 South Carolina

Photo by: AlSamuels.com

Cougars Open 2020-21 Season at Top-Ranked South Carolina

11/24/2020 4:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's basketball team tips off its 2020-21 season on Wednesday when the Cougars travel to Columbia to face top-ranked South Carolina.

THE GAME
Who: College of Charleston Cougars at South Carolina Gamecocks
When: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 | Noon
Where: Colonial Life Arena | Columbia, S.C.
Broadcast: SEC Network+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

COUGAR PROBABLE STARTERS (2019-20 STATS)
0 Madison Taylor, G, 5-8, Jr., Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School (6.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg,1.2 apg)
2 Taylor Williams, F, 5-9, So., Daytona Beach, Fla./Father Lopez Catholic (9.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
5 Tyler Gray, G, 5-8, Fr., Bladensburg, Md./Elizabeth Seton
15 Arynn Eady, F, 6-1, Jr., Atlanta, Ga./St. Francis (8.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
23 Tyler Collins, G, 5-6, Jr., Atlanta, Ga./Woodward Academy (12.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.9 apg)

HEAD COACH ROBIN HARMONY (13-17 in one season at CofC; 259-131 in 13 seasons overall)
Robin Harmony is in her second season at CofC after leading the Cougars to a 13-17 record in 2019-20, a six-win improvement over the previous season and the most wins since going 19-15 in 2013-14. The team also doubled its CAA win total from three to six, including a 73-59 victory over Drexel, one of only two CAA losses suffered by the eventual conference co-champions.

Harmony was 131-48 in six seasons at St. Thomas (Fla.) and 115-66 in six seasons at Lamar before coming to CofC. She began her coaching career as an assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson in 1987-88 and was on the staff at her alma mater, the University of Miami, from 1988-2005.

Harmony was first women's basketball player inducted into Miami's Athletic Hall of Fame and is among the school's all-time leaders in points (1,308), rebounds (750), assists (445) and steals (314).

COUGARS VS. GAMECOCKS
South Carolina holds a 16-9 lead in a series that dates back to the 1974-75 season. CofC took a 66-63 win in Charleston on December 7, 1991 during the Cougars' first year as a Division I program, but USC has won the last nine. The teams last met in Columbia on December 5, 2017, a 69-43 Gamecock victory.

FIRST MEETING WITH NO. 1
Wednesday's game marks the first time the CofC women's basketball team will face the top-ranked team in the nation as a Division I program (since 1991-92). The highest-ranked team the Cougars have played was No. 2 UConn in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.

COUGARS VS. TOP 10 TEAMS
12/18/93 – Lost at No. 5 North Carolina
12/20/94 – Lost to No. 4 North Carolina (Carolinas Holiday Beach Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
12/31/05 – Lost at No. 5 North Carolina
11/27/07 – Lost at No. 4 North Carolina
11/13/09 – Lost at No. 5 North Carolina
12/28/10 – Lost at No. 10 North Carolina
12/21/11 – Lost at home to No. 2 UConn
11/11/12 – Lost at No. 2 UConn
12/29/13 – Lost at No. 8 Maryland
11/28/14 – Lost to No. 3 UConn (Gulf Coast Showcase at Estero, Fla.)
12/16/16 – Lost at No. 8 Louisville
12/5/17 – Lost at No. 5 South Carolina

COUGARS VS. POWER 5
CofC is looking for its first win over a Power 5 conference school since a 68-55 victory over Clemson at home on November 16, 2009. The Cougars have dropped their last 22 games to Power 5 opponents, with five coming against SEC teams (0-3 vs. USC, 0-1 vs. Georgia, 0-1 vs. Vanderbilt).

EADY TAKES CAA REBOUNDING CROWN
Junior Arynn Eady averaged 9.7 rebounds per game last season to lead the CAA, and her 290 total boards are the second most in a season in school history. The junior forward paced the CAA in both offensive (3.6) and defensive (6.1) rebounds. Her 18 rebounds against UNCW (1/26/20) and William & Mary (2/7/20) are tied for the fourth most in a game in program history.

COLLINS DISHES OUT THE ASSISTS
Junior Tyler Collins has recorded 214 assists over her first two seasons and needs only 40 more to crack the Top 10 in the CofC record book. As a freshman in 2018-19, Collins had 131 assists, the sixth most in a season in school history, and ranked third in the CAA with 4.4 per game. She tied the school mark with 12 assists in her collegiate debut vs. North Greenville.

PERKINS NAMED THIRD TEAM ALL-CAA
Junior guard Latrice Perkins was selected third team All-CAA last year after ranking ninth in the league with an average of 13.5 points per game. She was also fifth in the CAA in steals per game (2.0), 11th in field goal percentage (.457) and 13th with 5.4 rebounds per contest. Perkins is currently out with a lower extremity injury suffered late in the 2019-20 season.

WILLIAMS ON CAA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Sophomore guard/forward Taylor Williams was chosen to the CAA All-Rookie team last year. She played in all 30 games with 18 starts and averaged 9.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Williams had season highs in both points (22) and rebounds (13) vs. Northeastern (3/1/20).

COUGARS LAND OUTSTANDING RECRUITING CLASS
The CofC coaching staff signed one of the top recruiting classes in school history when they inked three players ranked in the Top 250 in the nation according to the Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. The class is projected to be the best in the CAA and in the upper echelon nationally when those rankings are released.

The Cougars added wing Grace Abercrombie and points guard Bria McClure from Texas and wing Anani Humphrey from Maryland. Abercrombie was ranked No. 162 by Dan Olson, McClure was No. 187 and Humphrey was No. 209 as of signing day.