South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley expressed pride in her team after the Gamecocks defeated Texas 64-45 on Sunday to capture another SEC Tournament title, their ninth in the last 11 years.
Fifth-ranked South Carolina never trailed, using a dominant 19-2 run in the second-quarter to take control and secure their third straight conference championship.
“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 following the win, as reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
By halftime, the Gamecocks (30-3) had a 33-16 lead. South Carolina extended the margin to 21 early in the fourth quarter and was never seriously threatened again.
Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts led the Gamecocks with 15 points and nine rebounds. Tessa Johnson added 14 points, while Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each notched 11. South Carolina held Texas to 30% shooting and forced 18 turnovers.
The title game capped an impressive three-game run in Greenville for South Carolina, which also defeated Oklahoma and Texas, two newcomers to the SEC, by a combined 37 points. The Gamecocks outscored their opponents 67-27 in second quarters across the three tournament games.
“I took two timeouts in the second quarter and we just could not stop (their momentum),” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said.
Staley improved to 5-0 all-time against Schaefer in SEC title games, including previous meetings when he was coaching at Mississippi State. The Gamecocks are now 18-1 in SEC Tournament games played in Greenville, about 90 minutes from their home arena.
Texas struggles offensively against South Carolina women’s basketball
Texas (31-3), which entered the game on a 15-game winning streak, struggled to find rhythm offensively. All-American Madison Booker was limited to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon each added 14 points for the Longhorns.
“We have another big tournament ahead of us and we have to learn from our mistakes. … but this game will haunt us as a team,” Harmon said.
Despite the loss, Schaefer believes Texas is still in position to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“One quarter, one game certainly doesn’t define our season,” he said.
Both South Carolina and Texas are expected to receive top seeds when the field is announced March 16. Tournament play begins March 19.
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