The South Carolina women’s basketball team (30-3) clinched its fifth consecutive No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday night, just a year after being crowned 2024 national champions.
The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 27-3 record before rattling off three wins in to take home the SEC Championship for the third consecutive season, ultimately taking down No. 2 seed Texas 64-45.
After sharing the regular season championship with the Longhorns, the Gamecocks have now swept the SEC regular season and postseason in six of the last 10 years.
South Carolina enters as the second overall seed in the field of 68 as the top seed was awarded to UCLA after finishing 30-2 and winning the Big 10 Conference. The Bruins gave South Carolina one of its three losses back on Nov. 24, 77-62. Head coach Dawn Staley thought her team did enough to earn that top spot.
“I’m not in the room, but obviously I think we did much more than probably any other overall number one seed,” Staley said. “We outdid ourselves even from last year with the amount of quality wins that we had.”
The Gamecocks had 17 wins against teams in the top 50 in NET rating, which led the NCAA. South Carolina was also tied for second in the country with seven wins against ranked opponents.
South Carolina will open up the tournament in the Birmingham 2 bracket, hosting at Colonial Life Arena against No. 16 seed Tennessee Tech on March 21. The Golden Eagles won the Ohio Valley Conference to earn the automatic-bid after defeating Lindenwood in the conference championship.
With a first round victory, the Gamecocks will take on either the No. 8 Utah Utes or No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers at Colonial Life Arena on March 23 before moving on to Birmingham for potential regional games in the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight.
South Carolina drew a handful of familiar faces in the regional bracket, beginning with a couple of SEC foes in No. 5 seed Alabama and No. 7 seed Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks beat the Crimson Tide and the Commodores by a combined 67 points in three games this season.
The No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils also fell to the Gamecocks 81-70 on Dec. 5 at Colonial Life Arena. Duke earned the second seed in the region after taking home the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship over the NC State Wolfpack, a fellow No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke proves to be the toughest task in the region after finishing with a 26-7 record and ending the season on a six-game tear. Freshman forward Toby Fournier is leading the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. Junior guard Taina Mair and sophomore forward Delaney Thomas each scored 14 points against the Gamecocks in the head-to-head contest.
The Gamecocks can potentially match up with several more opponents from the 2023-24 season. On the road to the National Championship, South Carolina faced the No. 3 seed North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round, the Hoosiers in the Sweet 16 and the No. 14 seed Oregon State Beavers in the Elite Eight.
The Tar Heels are led by senior forward Maria Gakdeng, who led the team with 11.3 points per game. She was second on the team in rebounds at 7.7 per game. Gakdeng scored 8 points, six rebounds and four blocks in second round last year against the Gamecocks.
Along with UCLA, the Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans round out the No. 1 seeds in the top bracket. UConn clinched the top No. 2 seed in the tournament, meaning that all three of South Carolina's losses came against top five teams in the NCAA Tournament bracket. South Carolina would not match up with any of these teams until the Final Four.
South Carolina will rely on its experience throughout the tournament. Staley's starting five are all in at least their junior season while the majority of the roster returned off last season's national championship. The depth of the South Carolina roster will play a factor as well, as the Gamecocks lead the nation with 41.5 bench points per game. Freshman forward Joyce Edwards and sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley lead the team in scoring with 13.2 and 12.0 points per game respectively, both coming off the bench.
Junior forward Chloe Kitts is heating up at the perfect time for the Gamecocks. The SEC Tournament MVP averaged 16.7 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game in the conference tournament while shooting 74.2 percent from the field. Kitts averaged 10.1 points during the season.
The Gamecocks are riding a seven-game win streak since its Feb. 16 defeat against UConn at home. Staley said she is confident in her group after taking home the conference championship in convincing wins against Texas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
“I think our players are where they need to be,” Staley said. “I think they are playing the best that they’ve played all season long.”
What’s next?
The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team (30-3) will begin its quest for a second consecutive national championship against the No. 16 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (26-5) on March 21 at Colonial Life Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.