South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley schedules without fear. Under her leadership, the Gamecocks routinely play one of the country’s toughest out-of-conference schedules.
Even before she made USC into the premier program in all college basketball, Staley tested her team in non-conference play. Carolina began its annual series with UConn nearly a decade ago, and the Gamecocks often play tough opponents from all over the country. Carolina welcomes all challengers and even travels to play teams in their home arenas (or even bigger arenas in opposing cities to accommodate the enormous crowds). Just since 2021-2022, the Gamecocks have played road contests in Raleigh, Palo Alto, Storrs, Durham, Chapel Hill, and College Park.
Heading into the 2024-2025 season, ESPN has selected four South Carolina women’s basketball games among their top 12 of the non-conference slate. Two will be at home, one will be on the road, and one will be at a neutral site. In an article written by Charlie Creme, the Gamecocks’ matchups with UConn, NC State, UCLA, and Duke were selected as some of the very best in the country.
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In their second game, South Carolina plays NC State on November 10th as part of the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte. The contest is a rematch of last year’s National Semifinal in which USC won big en route to a title. Fans not in attendance can watch the game on ESPN at 3:00 p.m.
Just a couple of weeks later, Dawn Staley’s team will fly out west. The road trip to Los Angeles to play UCLA represents a matchup between two top-5 teams in the preseason poll. Tipoff is at 4:00 p.m., and the game will be available on FS1.
Last year’s ACC/SEC Challenge took the Gamecocks to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. This year’s game is in Columbia against the Duke Blue Devils. Set for December 5th, the Gamecocks and Blue Devils will tip at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN.
As a “break” during conference play, the annual rivalry between the Gamecocks and Huskies is on February 16th this season. The game returns to Columbia, and the Gamecocks have won in a row over UConn, including the 2021-2022 National Championship. Tipoff is at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN before Carolina begins the home stretch of the SEC season.
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Monday was a big day for the South Carolina women’s basketball program. Early in the day, guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson, and MiLaysia Fulwiley made the preseason watch list for the Naismith Award. Then, Paopao and Johnson made the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list, too. The Gamecocks also have an exhibition Monday night against Clayton State at Colonial Life Arena. The exhibition is South Carolina’s final preseason test before beginning their tough schedule next Monday against Michigan in Las Vegas.
