USC women's basketball team to open new arena vs. Clemson
By STEVE WISEMAN
Staff Writer, THE STATE
After finishing one win short of the Final Four last spring, the South Carolina women's basketball team gets the honor of christening the Carolina Center in November. The USC women will play host to Clemson on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. in the school's new 18,000-seat arena. The game will be played the night before the schools' football teams meet at Clemson. "We wanted to open the season against Clemson and bring fans into the new arena and continue building support for the South Carolina women's basketball team," said USC women's basketball coach Susan Walvius, whose team was ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press poll last April. The USC men's basketball team plays its first game in the Carolina Center the following day, Nov. 24, at 3 p.m. against East Tennessee State. That game is part of a doubleheader, with the USC women playing College of Charleston at 5:30 p.m. The men's team also has two more games, Nov. 29 with South Carolina State and Nov. 30 with Appalachian State, before the official grand opening game with Temple on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. However, those games all come second to another installment of the USC-Clemson rivalry. "We're very excited about the opportunity to host the very first event in the new Carolina Center," Walvius said. "And, it's even more special to open the 2002-03 season against Clemson." The complete USC women's schedule has not been released.