South-Carolina
South Carolina and LSU set for key SEC showdown on Thursday night
No. 1 South Carolina will face its toughest conference test of the season when it travels to face ninth-ranked LSU on Thursday night.
The Gamecocks have been running through the SEC so far, winning their five games by an average of nearly 35 points. They are the only undefeated team left in college basketball and have been dominant.
Not bad for a team that lost all five starters from last season’s squad that made it to the Final Four. Coach Dawn Staley has done a masterful job of getting the Gamecocks to play extremely well so far as they’ve beaten four ranked opponents already.
While the Gamecocks have been playing extremely well, the Tigers have been trying to mesh their new pieces with returning stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson. LSU lost at Auburn on Jan. 14 and sits a half-game behind the Gamecocks in the standings.
“As I told the team, ‘Our goals have not been destroyed just because you lost to Auburn,’” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “This is just a little obstacle in the road. And it’s one, as I said after the South Carolina game last year, ‘You either learn from this or you don’t.’ And I tend to think we learned last year, and we’ll learn this year.”
The defending champions lost their season opener to Colorado before rebounding to win 16 straight — albeit not against the strongest competition.
This will be the only regular season meeting between the two teams.
RENEWING OLD ACQUAINTANCES
There was a time when UConn and Notre Dame played it was must-see TV. The two women’s basketball powers had a series of intense rivalry games when they were both in the Big East Conference as well as classic Final Four matchups. They’ll tip-off on Saturday in Connecticut with the two schools splitting the past six meetings.
The Huskies will honor the 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2014 national championship teams. The 2013 and ’14 teams will officially be inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime, joining the 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004 championship teams.
1,203 AND COUNTING
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest coach in major college basketball, moving past former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski on Sunday when the Cardinal beat Oregon State. Next up for the Cardinal is a trip to Arizona to face the Wildcats and Arizona State.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
An 87-year-old businessman in Columbia, South Carolina says he has no plans to retire.
Leonard Fabrizio works as a retailer at Brittons of Columbia, a locally-owned men’s clothing store.
“I’m not the type of person who can sit around by myself,” said Fabrizio. “I just enjoy the interaction and that’s the big thing, is the interaction with people. It’s always been the drive in this business for me, said Fabrizio.
Fabrizio’s retail career began as a college student when he worked at J.C. Penney. He has watched Columbia grow and has owned a store and managed several others.
His advice is to “Be patient. It takes time to build a business. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s rewarding. It’s fun. But you have to have compassion for the business.”
Fabrizio recently celebrated another birthday alongside those who have supported his career.
(WPDE) — June 9 marked International Batten Disease Awareness Day, shining a light on a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder.
It primarily affects children and causes harmful waste material to build up inside the cells of the brain and nervous system.
One South Carolina family used the day to raise awareness as their 2-year-old son, Sam Stockton, lives with CLN2 Batten disease.
Sam was diagnosed at 16 weeks old, and his family says they travel every other week for enzyme-replacement therapy while also searching for clinical research opportunities.
Through Hope for Sam, the family is working to spread information about Batten disease and support other families facing rare diseases.
“Just the more you know about rare diseases, I never knew that over 300 million people worldwide live with rare diseases. And that means there’s less access to care because people aren’t researching it and not as many people have it. So the more information that’s out there, we feel is the better,” Jordan Stockton said.
There are 13 known types of Batten disease, and there is no cure. Researchers estimate the disease affects about two to four out of every 100,000 births in the United States.
The Stockton family says they have found support through the Batten Disease Support, Research and Advocacy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families navigate the disease while providing resources.
More information and donation details are available at this link.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — Contestants in the 2026 Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina’s Teen competitions will showcase their talents on Thursday at the Township Auditorium.
Miss South Carolina’s Teen’s Got Talent is set to begin at 5 p.m., followed by Miss South Carolina’s Got Talent at 7 p.m.
READ MORE | Miss South Carolina kicks off with preliminary rounds
The talent competitions are part of the weeklong Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization competition, which brings delegates from across the state to Columbia to compete for scholarships and the opportunity to represent South Carolina on the national stage.
READ MORE | Miss South Carolina’s Teen preliminary round begins
Contestants competed in fitness, evening wear, and onstage question preliminaries on Wednesday, while Miss South Carolina’s Teen contestants completed their preliminary competition on Tuesday.
Preliminary winners include:
Preliminary Fitness Award winners:
- Jenna Huggins, Miss Clemson
- Lindsay Jones, Miss Charleston
- Reagan McMahon, Miss Chapin
Preliminary Evening Gown Award winners:
- Mary Kimball Osborn, Miss Palmetto
- Chelby Drafts, Miss Golden Corner
- Reagan McMahon, Miss Chapin
Teen Preliminary Fitness Award winners:
- Alissa Claire Rhodes, Miss Fox Creek High School’s Teen
- Kamryn Mathis, Miss Greer High School’s Teen
- Logan Wells, Miss Palmetto’s Teen
Teen Preliminary Evening Gown Award winners:
- Logan Wells, Miss Palmetto’s Teen
- Cleo Floyd-Johnstone, Miss Ballentine’s Teen
- Kursten Long, Miss Newberry’s Teen
The Miss South Carolina’s Teen finals are set for Friday night, while the Miss South Carolina finals will take place Saturday.
Watch the 2026 Miss South Carolina Competition LIVE at 8:00 PM on Saturday, June 20. Tune in on WACH FOX 57 in Columbia, ABC 4 in Charleston, ABC 15 in Myrtle Beach/Florence, and My40 in the Upstate.
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