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 postseason 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. [2]
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. When the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely on March 12, South Carolina was ranked at the top of the AP and coaches' polls. Due to the unprecedented abrupt ending to the season following the SEC Championship win, Staley said they should be claim the mythical national championship, with the program making a claim through the size and location of the banner highlighting finishing #1 in the polls on December 31, 2020, at the 2020–21 conference season opener. As of the 2022–23 season, that banner size is identical to the two official championship banners, and located between the official championship banners. [3] [4] In 2021, the team reached the Final Four, losing to Stanford by a point.
On April 3, 2022, the Gamecocks won their 2nd national title with a 64–49 win over UConn, finishing the season 35–2 and being ranked #1 in both major polls for the entire season. Aliyah Boston won Player of the Year, and Dawn Staley was named Naismith Award winner as the best coach in the nation for 2022. [5]
On February 18, 2024, South Carolina set a record for winning 43 straight SEC victories.
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 Gamecocks opened the newly constructed Colonial Life Arena (then known as Carolina Center; the arena's deal with Unum was signed a year later) with a $1 admission night, leading to a crowd 17,712 saw the Gamecocks defeat the arch-rival Clemson Lady Tigers. [8] 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 |
|---|
| 02–18–2024 | 18,478 | Georgia | W 70–56 |
| 02–11–2024 | 18,167 | UConn | W 83–65 |
| 03–03–2024 | 18,000 | Tennessee | W 76–68 |
| 02–04–2024 | 18,000 | Ole Miss | W 85–56 |
| 01–28–2024 | 18,000 | Vanderbilt | W 91–74 |
| 02–26–2023 | 18,000 | Georgia | W 73–63 |
| 02–12–2023 | 18,000 | LSU | W 88–64 |
| 02–20–2022 | 18,000 | Tennessee | W 67–53 |
| 03–01–2020 | 18,000 | Texas A&M | W 60–52 |
| 02–10–2020 | 18,000 | UConn | W 70–52 |
| 03–03–2019 | 18,000 | Mississippi State | L 68–64 |
| 02–01–2018 | 18,000 | UConn | L 58–83 |
| 02–26–2017 | 18,000 | Kentucky | W 95–87 |
| 02–08–2016 | 18,000 | UConn | L 66–54 |
| 11–22–2002 | 17,712 | Clemson | W 72–58 |
| 01–11–2015 | 17,156 | Kentucky | W 68–60 |
| 11–16–2023 | 16,820 | Clemson | W 109–40 |
| 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 |
| 12–06–2023 | 16,181 | Morgan State | W 104–38 |
| 11–12–2023 | 16,007 | Maryland | W 114–76 |
South Carolina has led the nation in attendance every season since 2014–15, with the exception of 2020 which was limited due to COVID. The Gamecocks have averaged over 10,000 fans in 92 consecutive regular season home games.
| Year | Games | Overall W–L | Overall Win Pct | NCAA W–L | NCAA Win Pct | Total Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank) | Avg Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank) |
|---|
|
| 2014–15 | 16 | 16–0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 196,684 (1st/1st) | 12,293 (1st/1st) | | 2015–16 | 17 | 16–1 | 0.941 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 244,196 (1st/1st) | 14,364 (1st/1st) | | 2016–17 | 16 | 15–1 | 0.938 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 196,431 (1st/1st) | 12,277 (1st/1st) | | 2017–18 | 17 | 15–2 | 0.882 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 225,064 (1st/1st) | 13,239 (1st/1st) | | 2018–19 | 17* | 13–4 | 0.765 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 176,904 (1st/2nd) | 10,406 (1st/1st) | | 2019–20 | 15 | 15–0 | 1.000 | 0–0 | | 183,272 (1st/1st) | 12,218 (1st/1st) | | 2020–21 | 11 | 10–1 | 0.909 | 0–0 | | Covid Attendance | Covid Average | | 2021–22 | 16 | 16–0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 196,286 (1st/1st) | 12,268 (1st/1st) | | 2022–23 | 17 | 17–0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 220,010 (1st/1st) | 12,941 (1st/1st) | | 2023–24 | 17 | 17–0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 273,133 (1st/1st) | 16,067 (1st/1st) | | Totals | 159 | 150–9 | 0.943 | 16–0 | 1.000 | 1,911,980 | 12,897 |
| | |
* The 2019 NCAA Tournament games were played in Halton Arena, Charlotte, NC
- The 2021 NCAA Tournament games were played in the bubble at the Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Notes
- Between losses to Texas A&M on February 10, 2013, and Connecticut on February 8, 2016, the Gamecocks won 45 consecutive games at home.
- As of June 20, 2021, the Gamecocks have drawn over 10,000 fans in 92 consecutive regular season home games
- Since their loss to NC State on December 3, 2021, the Gamecocks have won 59 consecutive home games.
