Heading into the final week of regular season play, the South Carolina women’s basketball team is 13-0 in conference play, having already defeated all of the SEC’s top teams, three of which were in the top ten at the time. With Thursday’s win over Georgia, the Gamecocks clinched the outright regular season title in the SEC, but with their final three games coming against the three worst teams in the conference, coach Dawn Staley’s team is expected to achieve perfection.
This week’s slate starts with a Monday night road game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama is 14-12 this season, but just 3-10 in the conference, good for 12th place. The Tide are led by Hannah Cook, who averages 12.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and her scoring has her 13th among all players in the conference. Alabama will look to shake off a rough stretch, having lost seven of their last eight, with the only win coming against Ole Miss, who has struggled this season as well.
South Carolina will travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss on Thursday. The teams matched up in Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 28, when the Gamecocks topped the Rebels 81-62. Ole Miss has a star player of their own in Shandricka Sessom, who ranks sixth in the SEC with 15.8 points per game. Sessom carried the load for the Rebels in the first matchup of these two clubs, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Despite the talent of Sessom, the Gamecocks should have no trouble in Oxford, as Ole Miss is just 10-17 this season with only two wins in the conference.
Sunday, the Gamecocks will wrap up regular season play in Columbia against LSU. The Tigers have the second-worst record in the SEC at 9-18, but are fresh off a win over then-No. 24 Tennessee. The Tigers will look to spoil South Carolina’s quest for conference perfection, just as Kentucky did in last year’s regular season finale.
Facing the bottom three teams in the conference, South Carolina’s odds at a 16-0 conference record appear pretty high. Having already locked up the top seed for March’s SEC Tournament, Staley’s squad only has Staley’s squad only has pride to play for at this point, but expect the Gamecocks to be looking to make up for last season’s lone loss in conference play by finishing strong this week.