Staley Announces Non-Conference Schedule
Aug. 31, 2017
COLUMBIA, S .C. ââ’¬” Reigning national champion South Carolina women’s basketball announced its 2017-18 non-conference schedule, which includes eight home games and up to six games against teams that played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. In head coach Dawn Staley’s 10th season, which tips off with an exhibition on Fri., Nov. 3, the Gamecocks could face up to three first-time opponents this season.
“Every season we try to put together a competitive non-conference schedule to prepare our team and fans for postseason play,” Staley said. “This year, we accomplished just that.”
With the 13 non-conference games in addition to the SEC schedule previously released, South Carolina could play as many as 17 of its 29 games against teams that played in the 2017 postseason, including 15 against 2017 NCAA Tournament participants. As many as nine of the Gamecocks’ upcoming foes finished last season ranked in the top 25, and up to 15 of South Carolina’s matchups could come against teams that won at least 20 games last season.
After spending more time on the road last season, the Gamecocks are back to 15 games at Colonial Life Arena in 2017-18. Eight of those games feature opponents that played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including Final Four participant UConn (Feb. 1). The home schedule includes visits from in-state foes Wofford (Nov. 19) and College of Charleston (Dec. 5) as well as a chance to avenge last season’s loss at Duke (Dec. 3). The season begins at home for the fifth time in the Staley era against first-time opponent Alabama State (Nov. 10), which is coached by Freda Freeman-Jackson, mother of Gamecock freshman Bianca Jackson. Other home non-conference games are scheduled against Western Carolina (Nov. 30) and Savannah State (Dec. 17).
Beyond the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena, the Gamecocks have three true road games as well as three games in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Naples, Fla. South Carolina will face a tough test early, traveling to Maryland (Nov. 13) and then on to in-state rival Clemson (Nov. 16). Staley takes her Gamecocks to her hometown of Philadelphia to take on her former team, Temple (Dec. 21), in the final tune-up before SEC play begins.
The Gulf Coast Showcase is a bracketed tournament over Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-26), which the Gamecocks will kick off against Rutgers. They will face either St. John’s or Western Michigan, both potential first-time opponents for the program, in the next round of games. On the final day of the event, South Carolina could face ETSU, NCAA Elite 8 finisher Notre Dame, NCAA participant USF or WNIT semifinalist Washington State.
The South Carolina 2017-18 season ticket renewal deadline is Sept. 13, for which invoices have been sent to existing account holders. Fans interested in buying season tickets for the Gamecocks’ upcoming campaign can place a deposit either online at GamecocksOnline.com or by calling the South Carolina Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-4SC-FANS (472-3267).
