Gamecocks to Host Maryland in Women's Jimmy V Classic
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball will host Maryland on Sun., Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. as part of the Women’s Jimmy V Classic, ESPN announced today. For 2021-22, both teams are ranked in the top five of the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 with the Gamecocks coming in at No. 2 and Maryland at No. 5. The South Carolina-Maryland game will be the second half of the doubleheader with Kentucky at Louisville kicking off the event at 1 p.m.. Both games will air on ESPN.
The Gamecocks and Terrapins resume their series interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic last season, although the two narrowly missed squaring off in the 2021 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 when Maryland fell to Texas in the second round.
South Carolina won two of the first three meetings, both in College Park. Most recently, then-No. 8 South Carolina topped then-No. 4 Maryland 63-54 on Nov. 10, 2020. Maryland’s last visit to Colonial Life Arena was a top-10 battle on Nov. 18, 2019, that saw the Terrapins leave Columbia with an 85-61 victory.
The Jimmy V Classic annually raises money and awareness for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which was founded by legendary college men’s basketball coach and former ESPN commentator Jim Valvano in 1993 to fund game-changing cancer research and scientists to eradicate the disease. The men’s classic began in 1995, while the women’s event debuted in 2002. Both events are part of ESPN’s V Week initiative, which utilizes platforms to provide important messaging to sports fans about the importance of cancer research.
For the 2021-22 season, the Gamecocks return all 11 members from their 2021 NCAA Final Four team and add both the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation and the reigning ACC Freshman and co-Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Dawn Staley, who is currently leading the U.S. Olympic Team in Tokyo, has led the Gamecocks to six SEC Tournament titles in the last seven seasons and three NCAA Final Fours in the last six times the event has been held.
Fans interested in buying season tickets for the Gamecocks’ 2021-22 season can find more information at https://thegamecockclub.com/wbb/ or by calling the South Carolina Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-4SC-FANS (472-3267).
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball season.
