Lady Gamecocks win sixth consecutive SEC Women’s Basketball title

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Lady Gamecocks didn’t need a coin flip to decide the SEC Women’s Basketball championship game after an decisive 64-45 victory over no.1 Texas in the championship game on Sunday, March 9.

The two teams met for the third time this season and the no.5 Lady Gamecocks reminded the college women’s basketball world that they are here to stay! They both split in the regular season, which led to a coin flip to decide who would be the number one seed in the SEC women’s basketball tournament. South Carolina won that coin flip and were co-SEC regular season champs.

It was no coin flip or “co” anything to decide the winner of Sunday’s game. Four Gamecocks scored in double figures as Chloe Kitts led the way with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Dawn Staley now has won her ninth SEC title as the head coach of the lady Gamecocks and sixth consecutive title. Also, believe it or not, it was South Caorlina’s first win over a no.1 ranked opponent.

“They are young people that come down here and perform to a high standard every single time they step on the floor and for that I am super proud of them,” Staley said.

In addition, freshman forward Joyce Edwards was named first team all-SEC and all-freshman, while veteran guard Te-Hina Paopao and sophomore sensation MiLaysia Fulwiley was named second team all-SEC. Fulwiley also was named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year. Veteran guards Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin made all-SEC defensive teams.

After the win, Staley pleaded her team’s case to be a number one seed in the upcoming NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament.

“When you win this tournament and play the schedule that we play, I do think we’re the No. 1 overall seed,” Staley said. “We manufactured our schedule to put ourselves in this situation. So I hope the committee doesn’t discount our entire résumé. There isn’t anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we have played, that had share of the regular-season title, won this tournament and beat the No. 1 team in the country. … There is no one.”

Before the SEC women’s conference tournament started, the Gamecocks were projected as a no.2 seed for March Madness. This came after a disappointing home blowout loss to UConn on Feb. 16th. That projection will surely change though after winning another SEC title and dismantling opponents by 19.3 points per game as an average margin of victory in their three tournament games. Those teams featured Vanderbilt, who had the freshman of the year, no.10 Oklahoma and no.1 ranked Texas.

“If you get so much credit for beating us, and yet when we have had some of the toughest stretches in the country and came out of it unscathed, you can’t discount that,” Staley said. “You can’t discredit that. I’m going to speak up about it because you have to hear the voice of the other side. Because if you don’t think our body of works deserves it, then you need to speak out on it.”

Staley and the lady Gamecocks should be a no.1 seed in the tournament and can make a case to be the top-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately, we live times where people are prisoners of the moment. The UConn loss will be weighed heavily in the committee’s decision on Selection Sunday, which will take place on March 16. It was a bad loss and the lady Huskies exposed some weaknesses in the Gamecocks attack, but Staley and South Carolina won’t repeat that type of performance again. To sum things up, the Gamecocks should be a a no.1 seed and a Final Four favorite.