Gamecocks women’s basketball had an impressive run this season, but they lost to UConn 82-59 in yesterday’s Championship game of the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament. While the team wasn’t able to defend their title from the 2024 season, they did end this year’s season with many accomplishments in the basket.
The road to the championship game
How did the Gamecocks get this far? The team entered the Birmingham 2 Regional as the No. 1 seed — their fifth straight season earning that position— and advanced through the bracket with a series of wins:
- First Round — defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 108-48
- Second Round — took down the Indiana Hoosiers 64-53
- Sweet 16 — outlasted the Maryland Terrapins 71-67
- Elite 8 — edged out the Duke Blue Devils 54-50
This earned the Gamecocks their spot in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Final Four, where they defeated the Texas Longhorns 74-57 on Friday, April 4. The victory allowed USC to compete in the championship game — their third in the past four seasons, which is a record in the modern college athletics era.
Check the recap
This season, the Gamecocks honored their “uncommon” theme — a word used to recognize the team’s exceptional talents and abilities. They entered this season on a winning streak after becoming the undefeated champions at last year’s NCAA Tournament. This year, they ended the season with an impressive 35-4 record.
Fittingly, stand-out head coach Dawn Staley led the Gamecocks to the Final Four for her seventh time — and it likely won’t be her last. She extended her contract with USC through the 2029-2030 season, becoming the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball. She was also named a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist for a record-breaking eighth time.
USC has many more reasons to be cocky after this season, including these feats:
- This year’s Sweet 16 appearance was the team’s 11th consecutive time reaching that stage — the second-longest active streak in the US.
- USC won this year’s Southeastern Conference tournament, their third year in a row and their ninth overall victory.
- When the Gamecocks lost to UConn in February, they amassed the fourth-longest home winning streak in Division I women’s basketball history. The last time they lost a home game was in December 2020.
- When the team lost to UCLA in November, it was their first loss since their Final Four appearance in 2023.
