Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link
Gamecocks+
Top-Seeded Gamecocks Open SEC Tournament Action Friday
Women's Basketball  . 

Top-Seeded Gamecocks Open SEC Tournament Action Friday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 3/3 South Carolina is in Greenville, S.C., this weekend for the SEC Tournament. The SEC Champion Gamecocks’ first game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is set for Fri., Mar. 6, at noon against the winner of the Thursday’s game between eighth-seeded No. 22/22 Georgia and ninth-seeded No. 17/19 Kentucky.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina enters the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the 10th time, all coming in the last 13 seasons. From that position, the Gamecocks are 30-1 and won eight of their nine tournament championships.

  • The Gamecocks’ success has always been built on defense, and this season upheld that tradition. South Carolina is 17th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 56.5 points per game on 33.8 percent shooting, which is third-best in the country. It allowed conference foes an SEC-low 60.0 points per league game, and ranked opponents averaged just 64.0 points.

  • South Carolina’s offense is also among the highest scoring and most efficient in the nation, ranking third in  points per game (87.2), field goal percentage (.510) and 3-point field goal percentage (.370). The Gamecocks’ 47.9 percent shooting in SEC action led the league with their 82.1 points per game coming in third. Against ranked opponents, South Carolina averaged 78.4 points on 47.7 percent shooting, including 38.6 percent from 3-point range.

  • Senior Raven Johnson became just the eighth guard and the fifth Gamecock to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. She also captured a spot on the All-SEC Second Team as she combined her stifling defense with career-best offensive production. With her on the court, ranked opponents scored nearly 10 fewer points per 100 possession and saw their field goal percentage drop from 41.8 percent when she was on the bench to 38.3 percent when she was in the game – with 3-point shooting dropping from 35.1 to 26.8 percent. Offensively, she turned in career numbers with 10.0 points per game, 49.6 percent shooting, 38.0 percent 3-point shooting and 5.4 assists per game.

  • Forward Joyce Edwards became just the third Gamecock to earn First-Team All-SEC honors in each of her first two seasons. She is among the nation’s best offensive players, ranking 20th in scoring (19.8 ppg) and 17th in field goal percentage (.590). Edwards is also among the SEC’s best in rebounding (18th, 6.3 rpg), offensive rebounding (15th, 2.7), blocks (12th, 1.1 bpg) and steals (12th, 1.8 spg). Her 18 20-point games include a Gamecock-record nine in SEC play.

  • Center Madina Okot picked up her first All-SEC selection this season, earning a spot on the second team after a regular season that included leading the SEC in double-doubles (20, 3rd in NCAA), rebounding (10.9 rpg, 13th in NCAA) and offensive rebounding (3.9, 18th in NCAA). Her .598 field goal percentage is third in the league and 11th in the nation, her 1.6 blocks per game are fifth in the SEC, and her 14.0 points per game rank 19th.

  • Senior Ta’Niya Latson grabbed All-SEC second-team honors in her first season in the league, ranking among the league’s top 15 in numerous categories on both sides of the ball – fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2, 25th in NCAA), seventh in free throw percentage (.800), eighth in field goal percentage (.498 – her career best), 11th in steals per game (1.9) and 15th in assists per game (3.5). Her 14.6 points per game rank 16th in the league as well.

  • The SEC’s best 3-point percentage shooter, junior Tessa Johnson earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team. Her 44.0 percent accuracy from long range ranks 11th in the nation, and her 2.5 made 3s per game come in sixth in the SEC. Her career-best 13.1 points per game include 13.3 per game against ranked opponents. She has scored in double figures in 22 of her 29 games this season and hands out 2.6 assists per game as well.

 

By the Numbers
5 – South Carolina’s five entries on the All-SEC first and second teams matched the league record set by Tennessee in 2001.

8 – Eight of the Gamecocks’ 10 SEC regular-season championships were won outright.

10 – South Carolina’s 10 win against ranked opponents are the second-most in the nation.

 

SEC Tournament Take
South Carolina is 37-25 all-time in the SEC Tournament since joining the league for the 1991-92 season. Head coach Dawn Staley is 34-8 in the event with nine championships, all coming in the last 11 years.

The Gamecocks have reached the tournament championship game 10 times, finishing as the runner-up just once. Their nine championships have come in four different cities – North Little Rock, Ark. (2015), Jacksonville, Fla. (2016), Greenville, S.C. (2017, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025) and Nashville, Tenn. (2018)

With titles in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, South Carolina is the only program in league history to win four consecutive SEC Tournament titles and has a chance to match that streak with a title this season.

 

Neutral Stance
The Gamecocks are 182-97 (.652) all-time on a neutral court. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is 99-29 in games played at neutral sites (.773), including a 62-17 (.785) mark in postseason play.

 

Schedule Sketch
South Carolina’s schedule continues to challenge and prepare the team for the postseason. This year’s slate features 13 games against teams ranked at the time of the game or in the current top 25 – five home, five road and three neutral sites. Six of the 13 games are against teams currently in the top 10.

The non-conference schedule was highlighted by three ranked matchups – vs. #8/10 Southern Cal (W, 69-52), vs. #4/4 Texas (L, 64-66), at #22/21 Louisville (W, 79-77) – and another win over Duke (83-66), which is currently ranked 13th in the AP Poll.

In the NET rankings, South Carolina is ranked third after playing 12 Quad 1 games, including four non-conference matchups. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in the NET rankings, and their 10 Quad 1 wins are third-most  in the nation.

 

Ranking Review
South Carolina is currently ranked No. 3 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll.

It marks the Gamecocks’ 134th consecutive entry in the AP top 10, beginning with the 2019-20 preseason poll. It is the longest active streak and the eighth longest in the history of that poll (7th is 137, Baylor). Their 265 straight appearances in the AP Poll, dating back to Dec. 10, 2012, mark the second-longest active streak in the nation and is the sixth longest all-time (5th, Duke/Stanford, 312).

In the USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ Poll, South Carolina has been in the top 10 since claiming the No. 10 spot in the 2019-20 preseason poll.

Related stories