Two wins. Two wins away from being the best of the best. Granted, those two wins would have had to come against the top teams in the nation, but after coming so far and playing so well, head coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks couldn’t help but be heartbroken.
“You want the carrot that's been dangling in front of you all season long,” Staley said in a postgame interview after the Final Four loss to Notre Dame. “It’s quite disappointing.”
But all of that disappointment has cultivated into excitement surrounding the women’s basketball program, and on Friday night, they will begin a new season ranked second in the nation with hopes of reaching the Final Four again.
For starters, the Gamecocks return with much of their production from last year, with 2014-2015 First Team All-American Tiffany Mitchell and SEC Freshman of the Year A’ja Wilson coming back for the 2015-2016 campaign. They, along with junior Alaina Coates, were the top three Gamecocks in scoring, averaging double figures. Coates also led the team in rebounds last season, averaging almost eight a game. Those three, along with senior guard Khadijah Sessions and Virginia transfer and rebound machine Sarah Imovbioh, expect to round out the starting lineup. Imovbioh is expected to help fill the void left by last year’s senior post players Aleighsa Welch and Elem Ibiam.
Their first regular season game is no “gimme” game, as No. 6 Ohio State comes to town as one of the best in the Big 10. After bowing out in the second round of the tournament last season, the Buckeyes return their top three scorers from last season. Forward Alexa Hart and guards Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell contributed — on average — 67 percent of the team’s scoring. Mitchell, who led the team in scoring, assists and steals last season, earned 2014-2015 First Team All-American honors, and this year has a spot on the AP Preseason All-American First Team alongside the Gamecocks’ Mitchell.
Tiffany Mitchell knows the importance of this game. If the Gamecocks want to be a top seed and make it back to the Final Four again come March, then they have to perform at a high level early in the season, especially against teams like Ohio State that will boost their win resume.
“From here on, we expect to be a Final Four team,” she said. “It will be disappointing if we don’t make it back.”