South-Carolina
GamecockScoop – South Carolina Women's Basketball “Made It Clear” In Latest SEC Title Win
Call it a way to save space or a coincidence, but there is one distinct pattern in the banners hanging from the rafters above the side of Colonial Life Arena opposite the benches.
You see eight lined up in a row. Seven commemorating SEC regular season championships â one for each â and then one banner tacked on the end with all the SEC Tournament titles crammed into one piece of cloth.
Make some more room.
No. 1 South Carolina womenâs basketball wrapped up its eighth regular season conference championship in 11 years with a 72-44 victory over Alabama. It is a staggering stat, even with how normal the celebrations have become in Columbia.
A program with zero conference titles prior to the 2013-14 season now has more than every other team in the league except Tennessee.
National Championships are the goal, and one South Carolina (26-0, 13-0 SEC) is more than within its rights to expect this year. Final Fours are program markers, status symbols of excellence and consistency to reach the ending destination of any given season. Conference tournament titles are unique. You cut a net, you get another ring, you get a taste of postseason action before the real thing.
But lost in the shuffle of everything a college basketball team can accomplish, there is the regular season title. The one which takes the longest to win, and requires the steadiest hand to attain. Even an NCAA Tournament run is only six games. A regular season title means coming out on top over 16 contests, finishing at the front of a 14-team pack.
There is a reason South Carolina chooses to mark each one individually, unlike its conference tournament triumphs.
âIf thereâs a championship out there, we want to win,â Staley said. âItâs great, it really is great that this team has put us in this position this early. And I say early into the regular season, because it usually takes probably the last game. Youâre jockeying for position; youâre looking over your shoulder. And they made it clear.â
These Gamecocks â actually picked to finish second place pre-season, strange as it is to remember now â accepted a trophy from league commissioner Greg Sankey with three games to spare.
It is easy to feel like this is old news, played out or a âbigger fish to fryâ type of night. Staley herself, even through the excitement, did not wear her championship hat into the post-game press conference like her players.
When winning becomes habitual, winning feelings do as well.
But for the “old” guard, this was new. Te-Hina Paopao is the most experienced player on the roster as a senior transfer from Oregon, but got her first taste of what a championship celebration can feel like as a senior. Sakima Walker had to play increased minutes with Kamilla Cardoso taking the night off, and she also won her first team accolade as a Gamecock.
Bree Hall has been a part of three regular season titles, but never one where she started every single game on the way. She scored the first two buckets of a sloppy first quarter and finished her night 6-of-9 shooting with 13 points.
âItâs honestly a little different this time just knowing that I am more of a factor to it,â Hall said. âI feel like previous years I wasnât really that main factor, so I didnât really feel like, âOh, Iâm really getting this.â But now to go out there, and starting and really being a factor to the team, it just helps a lot.â
She has done this before, but she also has not. Same for Cardoso, Ashlyn Watkins, Raven Johnson and Chloe Kitts, all bench players on last seasonâs team who have soaked up starting minutes for the latest championship team. Taking what they learned from the most successful recruiting class in program history and adapting it into their own futures, something even they will admit took some soul-searching over the summer.
It is easy to become desensitized to it.
Until you remember five SEC programs have never won a regular season title, and two more have only done it once, and it opens a new perspective.
Half of the league has spent the better part of 40 years chasing or only winning one of what South Carolina now has eight of. The Gamecocks have long since graduated from any kind of underdog or surprise status, but the scale of this feat stands up.
A team of five new starters, five new players overall and two new assistant coaches did it again. Did it with almost a quarter of the conference schedule in their back pockets. Did it two games faster than even last year’s team.
Did it with conviction.
âIt was a new team,â Watkins said. âOf course you expect the unexpected. We lost seven people, thatâs a lot of people to lose especially off a good team that we had. We didnât expect to be this good, but once we saw we were this good, we never looked back.â
It will be number eight in the rafters, but the first one quite like this.
*****************************************************************************
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South-Carolina
LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts
Statehouse Reporter Mary Green will have more on this tonight.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Attorney General and other officials will be holding a press conference Friday at 9:30 a.m. to talk about statewide drug busts.
Wilson is set to be joined by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, as well as several local sheriffs and other law enforcement partners.
Watch the full press conference in the video above.
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The University of South Carolina’s 2026 football schedule has been unveiled, it was announced tonight on the SEC Network.
The Gamecocks’ 2026 schedule features nine regular-season SEC contests, with five games at home and four on the road. The schedule also includes non-conference games versus Kent State and Towson as part of the seven-game home slate, and a non-conference road contest at Clemson.
After opening the season with three-consecutive home games for the first time since 2014, the Gamecocks will alternate home and road contests throughout the remainder of the schedule. The 2026 schedule features just one open date which will come on week 7 (October 17).
As announced on Monday, the Gamecocks will open the season on Sept. 5 by hosting Kent State. Carolina drubbed the Golden Flashes in its only previous encounter, a 77-14 decision in 1995. Kent State finished the 2025 season with a 5-7 mark overall and a 4-4 record in the Mid-American Conference.
Week 2 will see the Towson Tigers make their first trip to Williams-Brice Stadium. The Tigers compete in the FCS Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and posted a 6-6 record in 2025 under head coach Pete Shinnick.
The Gamecocks begin their nine-game SEC gauntlet on Sept. 19 when Mississippi State visits Columbia. Carolina has won eight of the last nine meeting with the Bulldogs including a 37-30 win in 2023, the only contest played between the two schools since 2016. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series by a 10-7 margin. Mississippi State is one of seven teams on Carolina’s 2026 schedule that is playing in a post-season game this year.
The Gamecocks first road trip of the 2026 season takes them to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 26 for a date with the Alabama Crimson Tide, one of four teams on South Carolina’s 2026 slate that will appear in this year’s College Football Playoffs. It will mark the third-consecutive season that Carolina and Alabama have squared off, with the Tide narrowly winning the previous two – 27-25 in Tuscaloosa in 2024 and 29-22 in Columbia in 2025.
The Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats will meet in Columbia on Oct. 3. The teams met in Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025, with Carolina prevailing by a 35-13 score, its fourth-straight win in a series they lead 22-14-1.
Carolina wraps up the first half of the season at Florida on Oct. 10. The Gamecocks and Gators met every year on the gridiron from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Florida holds a commanding 31-10-3 lead in the all-time series including a 17-2 advantage when playing in The Swamp. Carolina’s last win in Gainesville came in overtime the 2014 season.
After an open date on Oct. 17, the Gamecocks will return to action at home on Oct. 24 against the Tennessee Volunteers. Like Florida, the Gamecocks and Vols met every year from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Tennessee leads the all-time series by a 29-13-2 count including a narrow 10-8-2 advantage when the game has been played in Columbia.
The Gamecocks will spend Halloween in Norman playing the Oklahoma Sooners. The teams had never met prior to OU joining the SEC but have played each of the past two seasons with each team winning on the others’ home field.
The Bonham Trophy will be at stake on Nov. 7 when Texas A&M visits Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks and Aggies have met every year since A&M joined the SEC in 2014. The Aggies hold a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series, but the Gamecocks have won each of the last two meetings in Columbia.
The Gamecocks will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. for just the second time since 2013 when they tangle with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 14. South Carolina has won three of the last four games with the Hogs, but Arkansas clings to a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series.
The second-longest running series in school history behind only Carolina-Clemson, the Carolina-Georgia rivalry gets renewed on Nov. 21 when the Bulldogs make their way to Columbia from Athens. Georgia has won 55 of the previous 76 meetings between the flagship schools from neighboring states, with the Gamecocks last win coming in 2019.
The 2026 regular season comes to an end on Nov. 28 when the Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers meet in the annual Palmetto Bowl. The 2026 meeting will take place in the Upstate, where the Gamecocks have won each of their last two visits.
SEASON TICKETS
Whether you’ve been attending games for years or want to experience the magic for the first time, it’s not too early to secure your season tickets for the 2026 season. Season tickets are available for as low as $65 per game with a 10-month payment plan option available. Fans interested in purchasing season tickets for the first time, can place a season ticket deposit today for only $50 plus fees or fill out our season ticket interest form to receive more information. Current season ticket holders will receive information soon on how to renew their tickets for the 2026 season and can contact their Gamecock Club Account Representative today to enroll in the 10-month payment plan. For more information on ticket options for the 2026 season, visit 2026 Football Hub.
2026 SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 vs Kent State
Sept. 12 vs Towson
Sept. 19 vs Mississippi State*
Sept. 26 at Alabama*
Oct. 3 vs Kentucky*
Oct. 10 at Florida*
Oct. 17 OPEN DATE
Oct. 24 vs Tennessee*
Oct. 31 at Oklahoma*
Nov. 7 vs Texas A&M*
Nov. 14 at Arkansas*
Nov. 21 vs Georgia*
Nov. 28 at Clemson
*-SEC game
Nebraska is targeting ex-South Carolina offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley for an offensive staff role, according to the Omaha World-Herald’s Sam McKewon. The role itself is still to be determined.
Teasley spent three seasons as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach. He had been with the program since 2021, serving as an offensive analyst. He assumed on-field coaching duties for the program in 2022.
Teasley was let go by South Carolina in October, ending his time with the program.
In addition to his coaching role, he was a strong recruiter for the Gamecocks. He most recently landed Darius Gray, the top interior offensive line recruit in the 2026 class. He was also able to land four-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair for the class as well.
Nebraska football has undergone several changes on offense over the last couple of days. They hired former Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade for the same position on Saturday, following the firing of Donovan Raiola.
The program is making sweeping changes on both sides of the football. Adding Teasley to the staff would be important for the program, which needs to be better prepared across all areas.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
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