South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The program enjoyed success under head coach Nancy Wilson during the 1980s in the Metro Conference, when it won five regular season conference championships and three conference tournament championships. Under current head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks have been one of the top programs in the country, winning the NCAA Championship in 2017. The program claims a mythical national championship in 2020 before the season ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing first in the two major polls (which is the traditional standard in football).[2]

South Carolina Gamecocks
2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of South Carolina
All-time record885–527 (.627)
Athletic directorRay Tanner
Head coachDawn Staley (12th season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationColumbia, South Carolina
ArenaColonial Life Arena
(Capacity: 18,000)
NicknameGamecocks
ColorsGarnet and Black[1]
         
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
NCAA Tournament Champions
2017
NCAA Tournament Final Four
2015, 2017
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
2002, 2015, 2017, 2018
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1982, 1990, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
NCAA Tournament Second round
1982, 1988, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
AIAW Tournament Final Four
1980
AIAW Tournament Elite Eight
1980
AIAW Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1980
AIAW Tournament Appearances
1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Conference Tournament Champions
Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989
SEC: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020
Conference Regular Season Champions
Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
SEC: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020

History

The Gamecocks first competed at an intercollegiate level in women's basketball in 1923, when they were called the Pullets (a young domestic hen, a play off "Gamecocks," which is a rooster).

The modern era of South Carolina women's basketball began when the Carolina Chicks took to the court in January 1974 under the guidance of Pam Backhaus. The inaugural team compiled a record of 15–7 and were the South Carolina AIAW champions. In 1977, with Pam Parsons as the head coach the women's basketball team, they changed their nickname to the Lady Gamecocks and made post-season trips every year during her four-year tenure.

During its eight seasons in the Metro Conference (now Conference USA after the 1995 reunification), the Lady Gamecocks won the regular season championship five times and the conference tournament three times.[3]

When South Carolina joined the SEC, success was hard to come by during their first decade in one of the strongest conferences in women's basketball. They initially struggled to compete under head coaches Nancy Wilson and Susan Walvius. Walvius' teams in 2001–02 and 2002–03 broke through to finish 25–7 and 23–8, respectively, earning trips to the NCAA tournament and reaching the Elite Eight in 2002.

Walvius resigned after the 2007–08 season. On May 7, 2008, Dawn Staley was named the new head coach of the team now known as simply the "Gamecocks".

Under coach Staley, the Gamecocks improved or equaled their win total every season during her first seven years leading the program, culminating in a 34–3 record in 2014–15. That year they won the SEC regular season championship, the SEC Tournament championship and the NCAA East Region Championship. The season ended in the NCAA Final Four with a last second one-point loss to Notre Dame in the national semifinals.

The following year, the Gamecocks went undefeated in conference play, only to be stymied in the Sweet 16 by Syracuse. In 2016–17, the Gamecocks garnered their third straight sweep of the SEC regular season and tournament titles en route to their second Final Four. They defeated conference rival Mississippi State in the national championship game to win their first-ever national title.

In the 2018 SEC tournament, the Gamecocks defeated Mississippi State to win the SEC tournament, South Carolina is the only team to win the SEC tournament for four straight years. Their season came to an end when they were defeated by Connecticut in the Elite Eight.

In 2020, South Carolina finished 32–1 (16–0), led by the #1 ranked recruiting class and senior leadership of point guard Tyasha Harris. The Gamecocks defeated 14 ranked teams including their first-ever victory over UConn, and won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles. South Carolina won their final 26 games of the season and spent the final nine weeks as the AP #1 ranked team. Dawn Staley was named national coach of the year, and Aliyah Boston was named national freshman of the year, and SEC defensive player of the year. After the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely on March 12, the Gamecocks clinched by traditional college football standards the Consensus National Championship by finishing first in both major polls (AP on March 17, Coaches on March 16) polls. Staley is pushing to claim the title.[4]

Head coaches
Name Years Seasons Games Won Lost Pct.
Pam Backhaus 1974–1975
1976–1977		 2 56 26 30 .464
Frankie Porter 1975–1976 1 22 7 15 .318
Pam Parsons 1977–1981 5 144 101 43 .747
Terry Kelly 1982–1984 3 82 50 32 .610
Nancy Wilson 1984–1997 13 380 231 149 .608
Susan Walvius 1997–2008 11 325 165 160 .508
Dawn Staley 2008–present 12 403 305 98 .757
All-Time 47 1412 885 527 .627

Year-by-year results

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source[5]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason Coaches' poll AP poll
Pam Backhaus (Independent) (1974–1975)
1974–75 Pam Backhaus 18–12–AIAW Region II
Frankie Porter (Independent) (1975–1976)
1975–76 Frankie Porter 7–15–
Frankie Porter: 7–15 (.318)–
Pam Backhaus (Independent) (1976–1977)
1976–77 Pam Backhaus 8–18–SCAIAW
Pam Backhaus: 26–30 (.464)–
Pam Parsons (Independent) (1977–1982)
1977–78 Pam Parsons 24–10–AIAW Region II
1978–79 Pam Parsons 27–10–AIAW Region II, NWIT Champions15
1979–80 Pam Parsons 30–6–AIAW Third Place4
1980–81 Pam Parsons 13-17–AIAW Region II
1981 Pam Parsons 7–0–
Pam Parsons: 101–43 (.701)–
Terry Kelly (Independent, Metro) (1982–1985)
1982 Terry Kelly 16–8–NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1982–83 Terry Kelly 16–12–
1983–84 Terry Kelly 18–127–3
Terry Kelly: 50–32 (.610)7–3 (.700)
Nancy Wilson (Metro, SEC) (1984–1997)
1984–85 Nancy Wilson 18–108–3
1985–86 Nancy Wilson 19–119–11stNCAA First Round
1986–87 Nancy Wilson 18–128–4
1987–88 Nancy Wilson 23–1110–21stNCAA Second Round24
1988–89 Nancy Wilson 23–710–21stNCAA First Round2217
1989–90 Nancy Wilson 24–913–1NCAA Sweet Sixteen1619
1990–91 Nancy Wilson 22–912–2NCAA First Round
1991–92 Nancy Wilson 13–152–912th (SEC)
1992–93 Nancy Wilson 17–105–6T-6th
1993–94 Nancy Wilson 14–132–9T-10th
1994–95 Nancy Wilson 12–151–10T-10th
1995–96 Nancy Wilson 16–122–9T-11th
1996–97 Nancy Wilson 12–151–11T-11th
Nancy Wilson: 231–149 (.608)83–69 (.546)
Susan Walvius (SEC) (1997–2008)
1997–98 Susan Walvius 13–153–11T-11th
1998–99 Susan Walvius 11–160–1412th
1999–2000 Susan Walvius 13–153–1111th
2000–01 Susan Walvius 11–176–8T-6th
2001–02 Susan Walvius 25–710–4T-2ndNCAA Elite Eight613
2002–03 Susan Walvius 23–89–5T-5thNCAA Second Round1816
2003–04 Susan Walvius 10–181–1312th
2004–05 Susan Walvius 8–212–1212th
2005–06 Susan Walvius 17–127–77thWNIT Second Round
2006–07 Susan Walvius 18–156–8T-7thWNIT Third Round
2007–08 Susan Walvius 16–164–10T-9thWNIT Second Round
Susan Walvius: 165–160 (.508)51–103 (.331)
Dawn Staley (SEC) (2008–present)
2008–09 Dawn Staley 10–182–1211th
2009–10 Dawn Staley 14–157–9T-7th
2010–11 Dawn Staley 18–158–8T-5thWNIT Second Round
2011–12 Dawn Staley 25–1010–6T-4thNCAA Second Round2125
2012–13 Dawn Staley 25–811–5T-4thNCAA Second Round1417
2013–14 Dawn Staley 29–514–21stNCAA Sweet Sixteen89
2014–15 Dawn Staley 34–315–11stNCAA Final Four34
2015–16 Dawn Staley 33–216–01stNCAA Sweet Sixteen35
2016–17 Dawn Staley 33–414–21stNCAA Champions11
2017–18 Dawn Staley 29–712–4T-2ndNCAA Elite Eight67
2018–19 Dawn Staley 23–1013–32ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen1315
2019–20 Dawn Staley 32–116–01stConsensus National Champions (polls)11
Dawn Staley: 305–98 (.757)138–52 (.726)
Total:885–527 (.627)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Attendance

Over the years, the Gamecocks have played in three different venues. At first games were played at the Blatt P.E. Center. Later games moved to the Carolina Coliseum, which saw the first sell out for a women's basketball game on January 17, 2002. That day, 12,168 fans turned out to see the South Carolina Gamecocks take on the Tennessee Lady Vols.

On November 22, 2002, the Lady Gamecocks opened the newly constructed Colonial Life Arena (then known as Carolina Center; the arena's deal with Unum was signed a year later) would be with $1 admission night, leading to a crowd 17,712 saw the Lady Gamecocks defeat the archrival Clemson Lady Tigers.[6] The first sell out with 18,000 in attendance occurred on February 8, 2016 against the University of Connecticut Huskies in a match up of the two top ranked teams in the country.

Crowds of over 16,000 at Colonial Life Arena for Women's Basketball games:

Date Attendance Opponent Result
03-01-2020 18,000 Texas A&M W 60–52
02-10-2020 18,000 Connecticut W 70–52
03-03-2019 18,000 Mississippi State L 68–64
02-01-2018 18,000 Connecticut L 58–83
02-26-2017 18,000 Kentucky W 95–87
02-08-2016 18,000 Connecticut L 66–54
11-22-2002 17,712 Clemson W 72–58
01-11-2015 17,156 Kentucky W 68–60
11-13-2015 16,815 Ohio State W 88–80
01-02-2015 16,465 Auburn W 77–58
12-06-2015 16,429 Duke W 66–55
02-28-2016 16,240 LSU W 75–39
02-18-2016 16,186 Georgia W 61–51

Starting with the 2013–14 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks became one of the national leaders in attendance for Women's Basketball. In 2014–15, the Gamecocks led the nation in attendance with 12,540 fans per game. They followed this up with an average attendance of 14,364 in 2015–16, a season where every home game had at least 10,000 fans in attendance.

Year Games Overall W–L Overall Win Pct NCAA W–L NCAA Win Pct Total Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank) Avg Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank)
2013–141616–01.0000–0101,935 (3rd/13th)6,371 (3rd/10th)
2014–151616–01.0002–01.000196,684 (1st/1st)12,293 (1st/1st)
2015–161716–10.9412–01.000244,196 (1st/1st)14,364 (1st/1st)
2016–171615–10.9382–01.000196,431 (1st/1st)12,277 (1st/1st)
2017–181715-20.8822-01.000225,064 (1st/1st)13,239 (1st/1st)
2018–1917*13-40.7652-01.000176,904 (1st/2nd)10,406 (1st/1st)
Totals9991–80.91910–01.0001,141,21411,527

* The 2019 NCAA Tournament games were played in Halton Arena, Charlotte, NC

Notes
  • Between losses to Texas A&M on February 10, 2013 and Connecticut on February 8th 2016, the Gamecocks won 45 consecutive games at home.
  • As of Januar 9th, 2020 the Gamecocks have drawn over 10,000 fans in 75 consecutive regular season home games

Current roster
2020–21 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Olivia Thompson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) SoLexington Lexington, SC
G 1 Zia Cooke 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) SoRogers Toledo, OH
G 3 Destanni Henderson 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) JrFort Myers Fort Myers, FL
F 4 Aliyah Boston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) SoWorcester (Mass.) Academy Saint Thomas, VI
F 5 Victaria Saxton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) JrModel Rome, GA
G 10 Destiny Littleton 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS SoThe Bishop's School
Texas		 La Jolla, CA
G 12 Brea Beal 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) SoRock Island Rock Island, IL
F 15 Laeticia Amihere 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS SoKings Way Christian Mississauga, ON
G 20 Eniya Russell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) FrSt. Vincent Pallotti Baltimore, MD
G 24 Lele Grissett 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) SrHillside Durham, NC
F 32 Elysa Wesolek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) JrNorthwood Academy Charleston, SC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Notable players

Gamecocks in the WNBA
Player Draft Seasons Notes
Shannon Johnson 1999 – Orlando 11 (1999–2009) Last with the Seattle Storm
Shaunzinski Gortman 2002 – 9th by Charlotte 5 (2002–2006) Last with the Seattle Storm
Jocelyn Penn 2003 – 9th by Charlotte 2 (2003–2004) Last with the San Antonio Stars
Tiffany Mitchell 2016 – 9th by Indiana 5 (2016–Present) Indiana Fever
Alaina Coates 2017 – 2nd by Chicago 3 (2017–Present) Currently with the Atlanta Dream
Allisha Gray 2017 – 4th by Dallas 3 (2017–Present) Dallas Wings, 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year
Kaela Davis 2017 – 10th by Dallas 3 (2017–Present) Dallas Wings
A'ja Wilson 2018 – 1st by Las Vegas 2 (2018–Present) Las Vegas Aces, 2018 WNBA Rookie of the Year
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan 2020 – 6th by Minnesota 0 (2020–Present) Minnesota Lynx
Tyasha Harris 2020 – 7th by Dallas 0 (2020–Present) Dallas Wings

Also drafted:

Retired jerseys

South Carolina has retired two jersey numbers.[7]

No. Player Career
13 Martha Parker 1985–1989
53 Sheila Foster 1978–1982

Player and coach awards

National player awards
A'ja Wilson – 2018
A'ja Wilson – 2018
A'ja Wilson – 2018
A'ja Wilson – 2018
A'ja Wilson – 2018
A'ja Wilson – 2018
  • All-Americans
Tiffany Mitchell – 2015
A'ja Wilson – 2016, 2017, 2018
Tyasha Harris – 2020
Aliyah Boston – 2020
Tiffany Mitchell – 2015
Tyasha Harris – 2020
Aliyah Boston – 2020
  • WBCA Freshman of the Year
Aliyah Boston – 2020
  • espnW Freshman of the Year
Aliyah Boston – 2020

National coach awards
Dawn Staley – 2020
Dawn Staley – 2020
Dawn Staley – 2020
Dawn Staley – 2020
  • espnW Coach of the Year
Dawn Staley – 2020

SEC Awards
  • Coach of the Year
Susan Walvius – 2002
Dawn Staley – 2014, 2015*, 2016, 2020
Tiffany Mitchell – 2014, 2015
A'ja Wilson – 2016, 2017, 2018
  • SEC Tournament MVP
Aleighsa Welch – 2015
Tiffany Mitchell – 2016
A'ja Wilson – 2017
A'ja Wilson – 2018
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – 2020
  • Defensive Player of the Year
Ieasia Walker – 2013
A'ja Wilson – 2016
Aliyah Boston – 2020
  • Freshman of the Year
Kelsey Bone – 2010
Alaina Coates – 2014
A'ja Wilson – 2015
Aliyah Boston – 2020
  • 6th Player of the Year
Alaina Coates – 2014*
  • WBB Scholar Athlete of the Year
Aleighsa Welch – 2015

* Denotes Co-Player / Co-Coach

Metro awards
  • Coach of the Year
Nancy Wilson – 1985, 1991
  • Player of the Year
Brantley Southers – 1986
Martha Parker – 1988, 1989
Beth Hunt – 1990
  • Newcomer of the Year
Martha Parker – 1986
Schonna Banner – 1987
  • Tournament MVP
Brantley Southers – 1986
Martha Parker – 1988
Beth Hunt – 1989
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References
  1. "Colors – Communications and Public Affairs | University of South Carolina". Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  2. Negley, Cassandra. "Dawn Staley on No. 1-ranked Gamecocks: 'Crown us the national champion'". Yahoo.com. Verizon. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  3. "South Carolina Women's Basketball History".
  4. Feinberg, Doug (2020-03-17). "South Carolina finishes No. 1 in AP women's basketball poll". AP Wire. The AP. Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  5. "History" (PDF). University of South Carolina. Retrieved 10 Aug 2013.
  6. "South Carolina hosts Clemson Friday night in the Carolina Center's Grand Opening". Gamecocks Online. Cnet/CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  7. "SOUTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS HISTORY". Gamecock.
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