South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
| South Carolina Gamecocks | ||||
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| University | University of South Carolina | |||
| Conference | SEC | |||
| Location | Columbia, SC | |||
| Head coach | Dawn Staley (8th year) | |||
| Arena |
Colonial Life Arena (Capacity: 18,000) |
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| Nickname | Gamecocks | |||
| Colors | Garnet and Black |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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| NCAA/AIAW Tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1980, 2015 | ||||
| NCAA/AIAW Tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1980, 2002, 2015 | ||||
| NCAA/AIAW Tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1980, 1982, 1990, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 | ||||
| NCAA/AIAW Tournament second round | ||||
| 1980, 1982, 1988, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | ||||
| NCAA/AIAW Tournament appearances | ||||
| 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989 SEC: 2015, 2016 |
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| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 SEC: 2014, 2015, 2016 |
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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 improved their win totals every year, culminating in winning the SEC Championship in 2014, 2015, and 2016. They gained number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015. Following the 2014 season, Staley signed the second-ranked recruiting class in the country, highlighted by the overall top-rated recruit, A'ja Wilson.
The first Gamecocks women's basketball team to compete at an intercollegiate level was in 1923 when they were called the Pullets.
The first varsity team, known as 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 with her at the helm.
During its eight seasons in the Metro Conference, the Lady Gamecocks won the regular season championship five times and the conference tournament three times.
When South Carolina joined the SEC, success was hard to come by during the first decade. The program struggled to compete in the premier Women's Basketball League under head coaches 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 and Dawn Staley was named the new head coach of the team now known as simply, "Gamecocks" on May 7, 2008.
Under Coach Staley, the Gamecocks have improved or equaled their win total every year. They finished with a record of 10–18 in 2008–09 and with continued progress each season, they won the SEC Regular Season Championship, the SEC Tournament Championship and the NCAA East Region Championship in 2014–15 with a 34–3 record. The season ended in the NCAA Final Four with a last second one-point loss to Notre Dame in the national semi-finals.
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