South Carolina coach Dawn Staley isn't sweating her team's 17-point loss to rival Texas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship.
In fact, she thinks it might be a blessing in disguise for her Gamecocks (31-3) heading into the NCAA Tournament, allowing them to refocus.
“Our team knows we didn’t play our best basketball — not nearly what we’re capable of doing,” Staley said of the 78-61 loss to the Longhorns, a game in which they fell behind
14-0. “But I told them that the last time we lost in this situation, we won a national championship. So you’ve got to think about that. It might be the very thing this team needs.”
The fourth-ranked Gamecocks (31-3) last lost the SEC championship game in 2022 to Kentucky, but went on to beat UConn 64-49 for the second of Staley's three national championships since taking over as coach at South Carolina.
South Carolina enters this year's tournament as a No. 1 seed for the sixth straight time. UConn, UCLA and Texas are the other top seeds.
The Gamecocks have reached the Final Four in each of the last five seasons, while making the national championship game three times and cutting down the nets twice during that span.
They open this year's tournament at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday against the winner of a First Four game between Southern and Samford, both No. 16 seeds. If they win their first two games, the Gamecocks will head West to Sacramento for the regionals.
Two of South Carolina's three losses this season have come to Texas and first-team All-American Madison Booker, who has proven to be a difficult matchup. (The other defeat was an overtime loss on the road at Oklahoma.)
South Carolina is 1-2 against Texas (31-3), beating the Longhorns at home in January en route to winning the regular season title outright. The teams are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning if they meet for a fourth time it would come in the national championship game.
South Carolina has the firepower to win another national championship despite losing four starters from the 2025 national runner-up squad.
Three of those players had completed their eligibility, and 2025 SEC Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Key reserve MiLaysia Fulwiley transferred to LSU.
But returner Joyce Edwards (19.6 points and, 6.3 rebounds per game) has stepped up her game and the Gamecocks feature a strong backcourt led Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson. They've also gotten big contributions from transfer Madina Okot and Ta'Niya Latson.
The Gamecocks have responded well to their previous two losses this season, twice rattling off 12-game win streaks.
The big question now will be if they can regroup from the Texas loss and make a run at another national title.
“Things we usually make weren’t necessarily going in,” Edwards said following the loss to Texas. “It just happens. We have other goals in mind — the national championship. This isn’t the end all be all, so we’re just moving forward.”
If there was a big bright spot for the Gamecocks coming out of the SEC Tournament it was the improved play of 6-foot-7 Alicia Tournebize, a midseason addition from France. Tournabize's height and wing span could be a factor for South Carolina later in the tournament, allowing Okot more time to rest.
“If we could get Ali to play the way she did — she played inspired,” Staley said. "If she can give us that. She got seven rebounds on a great rebounding team like Texas and held her own defensively.
“We needed scoring. We know Ali can score the basketball. I thought she did a pretty good job. I think we should probably have gotten her the ball a little bit more in the block and let her go to work. But we made a step forward in our journey to win a national championship. Somebody like her will add to the depth that we need to make this run.”
