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COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina didn’t have a big celebration after earning its 10th SEC regular-season women’s basketball title Sunday, and there was a good reason.
The No. 3 Gamecocks clinched at least a tie for the championship with their 85-48 victory over Ole Miss, but they want to win the title outright, which they can do this week when they host Missouri.
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“Hopefully, we can get that done Thursday, and we’ll make sure we jump around because it’s an incredible feat in this conference,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley mentioned. “I don’t want us to take our foot off the gas, because when you can control your own destiny, you should take advantage of it.”
Last season, South Carolina tied Texas for the SEC regular-season title at 15-1 as both lost only to the other in conference play. The SEC tournament No. 1 seed then had to be decided by a coin flip, which was won by South Carolina.
“We don’t want to go down that route again,” Staley mentioned.
South Carolina stands at 13-1 in league play, with its only loss coming in overtime at Oklahoma on Jan. 22. Texas and Vanderbilt are in second place at 11-3 after victories Sunday.
After unranked Missouri, South Carolina finishes the regular season March 1 at No. 16 Kentucky. The SEC tournament is in nearby Greenville, South Carolina, from March 4 to 8. The Gamecocks have won that championship nine times, including five of the past six years.
Texas and South Carolina played twice this season, but only one game was part of SEC play. The Longhorns won their first meeting Nov. 27 in Las Vegas at the Players Era Championship. The Gamecocks won their SEC matchup on Jan. 15 here in Columbia.
This is the Gamecocks’ 10th league regular-season title in 13 seasons and fifth in a row. Only Tennessee, which has a record 18 titles in the regular season, has won or shared the championship more consecutive seasons: seven, from 1998 to 2004.
Staley took over the South Carolina program in 2008 and won her first SEC regular-season title in 2014. The Gamecocks won national championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024. The Gamecocks also have had two WNBA No. 1 draft picks in that stretch: four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who attended Sunday’s game, and Aliyah Boston.
“This has been the training ground to success outside of the SEC,” Staley mentioned of how winning in the league has led to so much national acclaim. “Winning five SEC championships consecutively … it’s almost like an out-of-body experience. And when we’ve won championships, the players that are supposed to get to the next level get to the next level. Because people want winners.”
Joyce Edwards had 21 points and Madina Okot 17 points and 10 rebounds against No. 17 Ole Miss. The Gamecocks held Ole Miss to 26.5% shooting and just nine points in both the second and third quarters. Ole Miss leading scorer Cotie McMahon, a projected top WNBA draft pick like South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson and Okot, had just 2 points and was 0-of-9 from the field.
Staley went on to compliment her players Sunday on South Carolina’s success over the years.
“The kitchen’s hot when we play the type of league that we play in,” Staley mentioned. “Sometimes you’ve got to walk through it to get to the thermostat to turn it down. I think we’ve done a really good job taking the time with our players when they need it.
“You know you’ve helped them. You’ve pushed them through a moment in which they could have gone downhill to a moment where you’ve restored their confidence. That’s the cycle we go through every single year. They don’t have to listen, so I’m happy we’ve got a group that listens and a desire to be great at what they do.”
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