South-Carolina
No. 1 South Carolina heads into final week of regular season still unbeaten
Dawn Staley has South Carolina in a familiar place with a week left in the regular season.
For the second straight year the No. 1 Gamecocks haven’t lost a game heading into March — a feat they hadn’t accomplished before last season. Even with all five starters from last year’s Final Four run gone, the Gamecocks sit at 27-0 with two games left.
They visit Arkansas on Thursday before hosting Tennessee on Sunday. The Gamecocks clinched their third consecutive outright Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and eighth in 11 years after Sunday’s win over Kentucky.
“We haven’t lost a game and our players are thinking this is the way it is. The competition gets better and better as we approach the postseason,” Staley said after beating Kentucky on Sunday. “We want to give our players their flowers but want them to know there’s work to do.”
Staley has been impressed with her squad and how even when they have been down in games, have rallied.
“They find a way to win basketball games,” she said. “That’s the sign of a really good team. I’m not gonna say that we’re not a good basketball team. We’re a really good basketball team when we are playing like we played today.”
It’s been a balanced effort for the Gamecocks, who have seven players averaging 8.5 points or more this season.
Once again, South Carolina won’t have to go far for the SEC Tournament as it’s played in Greenville. The Gamecocks are poised for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will have the first two games at home and then most likely will travel to Albany, New York for the regional, meaning they won’t have to leave the Eastern time zone. The other regional is out in Portland, Oregon.
While the Gamecocks have wrapped up the SEC already, there are a bunch of other big games this week.
Sunday’s matchup against No. 2 Ohio State could be sixth-ranked Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s final regular season game at home. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader has a fifth year of eligibility left if she wants it. She hasn’t announced whether she’ll come back for a fifth-year or not or enter the WNBA draft where she is the presumed No. 1 pick.
Clark will have potentially two more games at home in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as the top 16 teams host those games.
No. 3 Texas visits 20th-ranked Oklahoma on Wednesday with first-place in the Big 12 Conference on the line. The Sooners have a one-game lead over the Longhorns. Oklahoma won the first meeting by four points last month. If Texas wins and the two teams end up tied in the standings — they each have one game left after Wednesday — they’d share the regular season crown.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — Advocates, caregivers, patients, and community leaders gathered at the South Carolina State House on Friday for the inaugural South Carolina Sickle Cell Day.
Organizers said the event focused on raising awareness of sickle cell disease.
The South Carolina CBO Collective Caucus hosted the event at 10 a.m., coinciding with World Sickle Cell Day and Juneteenth.
Organizers said the gathering brought together healthcare professionals, legislators, advocates, and supporters from across the state to discuss education, support, and action related to sickle cell disease.
The program is designed to amplify the voices of individuals and families impacted by the disease and encourage conversations about healthcare access, advocacy, research, and community support, organizers said.
Attendees heard personal stories and learned about challenges faced by those living with sickle cell disease.
“World Sickle Cell Day is a powerful call to action for all of us,” said founder and CEO of The B Strong Group Brenda Green. She said the collaboration expands support, strengthens community response, and stands with affected families.
The B Strong Group, founded in 2017 and based in Columbia, is a nonprofit organization focused on sickle cell awareness, advocacy, and caregiver support.
The group organizes blood drives, caregiver workshops, and awareness campaigns under the motto “Educate, Advocate, Empower.”
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.
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