South Carolina women's basketball: The five moments that defined South Carolina's season
We are nearly a month removed from the end of the 2024-25 season. Let’s reflect on the five moments that defined South Carolina’s season.
1. The loss to UCLA
It wasn’t just that UCLA beat South Carolina 77-62 and ended the Gamecocks’ 43-game winning streak. It was how it happened. A year earlier, South Carolina had an answer for everyone, and the bigger the stakes, the better South Carolina played.
This time, South Carolina had no answers, and it was UCLA that rose to the occasion. Most shockingly, UCLA was the bigger, deeper, and more athletic team. That hadn’t happened to South Carolina since the 2018-19 season.
2. Ashlyn Watkins tears her ACL
Watkins was driving for a layup against Mississippi State on January 5 when her knee buckled and she fell to the floor. She was done for the season with a torn ACL. Watkins was arguably South Carolina’s most important player – at least its most irreplaceable.
She was the best defender, rebounder, shot-blocker, and post presence that could replace Kamilla Cardoso. Suddenly, rebounding was an issue. So was frontcourt depth, and rim protection. In short, the little margin for error South Carolina had was now gone.
Be in the know about all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer!
3. The five-game stretch in January
In a 15-day stretch in January, South Carolina played five ranked teams. Two were in the top five, three had top-five offenses, and a fourth had a top-ten offense. It was one of the most challenging stretches of SEC play anyone can remember. But South Carolina cruised.
The Gamecocks beat no. 5 Texas 67-50, no. 19 Alabama 76-58, no. 13 Oklahoma 101-60, no. 5 LSU 66-56, and no. 18 Tennessee 70-63. They were beyond stifling on defense, holding all five opponents more than 30 points below their season average, and proved they were national championship contenders.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
SEC Championship
Weather moves game time
- 2New
Sam Leavitt donation
$15K to Pat Tillman Foundation
- 3
Boise State AD
Rips CFP changes
- 4Hot
Field of 64 projection
New No. 1 baseball seed
- 5
OU athletic staff lay-offs
Revenue sharing the root
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
It took an A+ game from everyone on the roster to sweep that stretch, and ultimately, it wasn’t sustainable. But it was still a heck of a run.
4. The UConn collapse(s)
Pick whichever one you prefer. They were both disappointing. During the loss in Columbia, it felt like South Carolina had forgotten to show up. In Tampa, it was clear that the better team won, a small consolation.
It hurts, but how many other programs can call a national runner-up season disappointing?
5. The Texas Two-step
For all the national talk about how Texas had bumped South Carolina from the top of the SEC (and there are a lot of pundits wishing they could erase those late February hot takes), South Carolina emphatically shut down that idea. The Gamecocks routed the Longhorns 64-45 in the SEC tournament, holding the Longhorns to the lowest scoring output in title game history, and then cruised to a 74-57 win in the Final Four. They even dominated the coin flip.
You could try to qualify the wins however you want (and Vic Schaefer certainly made plenty of excuses), but South Carolina outcoached the SEC Coach of the Year and made the SEC Player of the Year, Madison Booker, a non-factor. The SEC still belongs to South Carolina.
