The No. 6 South Carolina women’s basketball team carry a 24-3 overall record while upholding 12-1 record in Southeastern conference play with just two games to go in its season.
The Gamecocks sit ranked second in the SEC, the conference has seven out of its 16 teams ranked in the top 25 in the AP poll.
The Gamecocks' resume against SEC teams has been impressive. In January, the Gamecocks took down No. 19 Alabama 76-58, No. 13 Oklahoma 101-60, No. 5 LSU 66-56 and No. 18 Tennessee 70-63. In February, they collected wins against Auburn, Georgia and Florida.
South Carolina's only conference loss comes at the hands of No. 4 Texas, losing 66-62 on Feb. 9. South Carolina had won its earlier home matchup against the Longhorns on Jan. 12 67-50.
With the SEC Tournament approaching, the stakes continue to rise for South Carolina. In the SEC tournament, all 16 SEC schools compete for an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. The top four teams earn two byes for the first two days and won't have to play in the quarterfinals.
The Gamecocks and No. 2 Texas both control their destiny in their quests to clinch at least a share of the SEC regular season title. While the regular season title can be shared, the decision for which team will be the top seed in the SEC tournament will come down to a coin flip if both teams finish with one loss.
SEC strength persists in final stretch of season
As of Feb. 19, out of the 16 teams in the SEC, seven are ranked on the AP poll with three of them being in the top 10. South Carolina sits firmly in that top ten at No. 6, only behind the No. 2 Texas Longhorns among SEC teams.
Texas sits at the top of the SEC with a 26-2 overall record, with a 12-1 record in the conference. The Longhorns have beaten four straight ranked opponents in February: then-No. 24 Vanderbilt, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 5 LSU.
LSU is ranked No. 7 in the AP poll with a 26-2 record and is third in the SEC. Its only two losses are from conference play against South Carolina and Texas, leading it to an 11-2 record in the SEC. LSU pulled it together against other ranked SEC teams in recent weeks, including wins over then-No. 16 Tennessee and then-No. 13 Oklahoma.
No. 14 Kentucky has a 21-4 record overall and a 10-3 record in the SEC. Kentucky earned its spot at No. 14 after beating Oklahoma and Alabama — two ranked SEC opponents who fell just behind it in the rankings. However, for Kentucky, two of its losses come from unranked teams in the SEC, including losses to Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
No. 15 Tennessee sits at 20-6, with all six losses coming from the SEC for a conference record of 7-6. Five of those six losses come from ranked SEC opponents, but the Lady Volunteers have won two games in a row after their loss on Feb. 9 against LSU, beating Auburn and Ole Miss.
No. 16 Oklahoma is right behind Tennessee with the same record of 20-6 but holds a better record in conference play of 8-5. A key win in Oklahoma's season to keep it at No. 16 is its win against No. 15 Tennessee 87-86 on Jan. 5.
No. 18 Alabama is the last SEC team ranked on the AP poll, sitting at an overall record of 21-6 and an 8-5 conference record.
Other unranked SEC teams are looking to build toward some upsets before the season ends with so many SEC teams going against each other in the final weeks.
Stars shine
South Carolina’s freshman forward Joyce Edwards is averaging 13.2 points per game to lead the Gamecocks on the season. Although Edwards is ranked No. 22 in the SEC in points per game, her stats show the depth in South Carolina's roster, as the team continues to win without a top-ranked scorer.
For Texas, out of its four recent ranked wins, there was a common factor — sophomore forward Madison Booker, who averages 16.6 points per game for the Longhorns. Booker stands as the top scorer in their last five SEC games, dropping 20 against South Carolina and Vanderbilt, 19 against Kentucky and 16 against LSU.
Sitting on top of the most rebounds per game in all of women’s college basketball is LSU senior forward Aneesah Morrow, averaging 14.4 rebounds per game. Morrow also leads all of college basketball with the most offensive rebounds at 145 and is third in defensive rebounds at 244.
Morrow's 18.1 points per game have her ranked seventh in the SEC, two spots behind LSU junior guard Flau'Jae Johnson, who has 19.5 points per game. The duo has also been a strong defensive force for LSU, with Morrow leading her team in steals per game at 2.5, ranking herself at No. 4 in the SEC. Johnson is right behind her at 1.7, coming in second on the team and No. 19 in the SEC.
For Kentucky, graduate guard Georgia Amoore has played a big part in the Wildcat's wins and overall ranking at No. 14. Amoore leads the team in points per game at 19. Amoore leads her team in assists as well at 7.1 per game.
Freshman guard Mikayla Blakes from Vanderbilt is putting up stellar numbers for just her first year. Her 55 points in a 97-77 overtime win over Auburn is tied for the ninth-most in a single game in NCAA women’s basketball history. This comes less than a month after tying the record held by Chris Starr in her 53-point outing against Florida.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks (24-3, 12-1 SEC) are looking to keep their momentum going against Ole Miss (17-8, 8-5 SEC) on the road at The Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi on Feb. 27. The game tips off at 9:00 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN and the SEC Network.