The South Carolina women's basketball team stood on the court of Colonial Life Arena on Nov. 10, looking up into the rafters as the "2017 National Champion" banner was unveiled and the Gamecocks' season as reigning National Champions officially began.
With the pressure to get back to that moment, the Gamecocks faced even more challenges with their roster. Alaina Coates, Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis were all selected in the top 10 of the 2017 WNBA Draft, and with Gray and Davis foregoing their final years of eligibility of NCAA play. Those losses would be huge for the Gamecocks as they would have to get used to a very new lineup and try to get the same kind of production they got from Gray and Davis.
South Carolina opened that night with a win and went on a six-game win streak to open the season, including wins at then-No. 15 Maryland and rival Clemson. The first loss of the season came during the Gulf Coast Showcase in a top-10 matchup against Notre Dame. That loss would be the only one before conference play began, winning another seven including the first two SEC games of the year before suffering a loss at Missouri.
The series against Missouri became heated this season. During that loss, A'ja Wilson fouled out and head coach Dawn Staley got ejected with a little less than three minutes left in the game. That tension would only continue to build when the two faced each other a few weeks later at Colonial Life. During the second quarter, Alexis Jennings and a Missouri player both went for a rebound and crashed to the floor, causing both teams to run over and getting in on the arguing and pushing. Two Tigers were ejected for running from the bench before the Gamecocks went on to get the win.
It was a season full of ups and downs and led to the Gamecocks finding their way to yet another Elite Eight. Regardless of everything that went down, some moments just stick out.
Best win
The Gamecocks once again found themselves in the SEC Tournament finals, taking on the then undefeated Mississippi State Bulldogs. South Carolina suffered a tough 67-53 loss to Mississippi State earlier in the season in Starkville. After all of the intensity in the previous season, there was a lot riding on this SEC Tournament finals matchup.
Four Gamecocks scored in double-digits during the SEC contest, led by Wilson with 16, followed by Ty Harris, Kiki Herbert Harrigan and Bianca Jackson. South Carolina also played strong defense, limiting Mississippi State to make just one of its 11 shots during the first quarter.
This all led to South Carolina's fourth straight SEC Tournament title, the third one coming off of a win over Mississippi State. It also snapped the Bulldogs season-long win streak in the tournament, Mississippi State hadn't lost since the National Championship game to the Gamecocks last April. South Carolina also became the first women's program to ever win four straight SEC Tournaments.
Worst loss
Once again, South Carolina could not get past the dominance of the UConn Huskies. The Huskies came to Columbia as the No. 1 team and with another undefeated season. They jumped out quickly to grab a 29-point lead at the half. Two UConn players scored 20 or more points, leading the team to the 83-58 win.
Jackson had a career-high 20 points but that was not enough to overcome the Huskies. Wilson scored 14 points and said after the game she was disappointed with her performance.
Later, the Gamecocks had the chance to have a better showing, taking on UConn in the Elite Eight for the two's first meeting ever in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately, it was the same story, and that loss would end South Carolina's season.
Regardless of the outcome, South Carolina (29-7, 12-4 SEC) had to overcome multiple challenges to make it as far as it did and Staley was overall pleased with what her team accomplished.
"I'm super proud, because no one had us probably here," Staley said. "And the way that our team performed all year long, under adversity, couldn't be ... more proud of our players and the way they've handled themselves and the way they did not succumb to 'woe is me, why is it happening to me'. They just played it out and we found ourselves in a place in which only us believed that we could be here."