South Carolina women's basketball, Dawn Staley to play USF on Dec. 18
COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball will play at USF on Thursday, Dec. 18, rounding out a home-and-home non-conference series with the Bulls, USF revealed June 5.
The Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley hosted USF on Dec. 15, where they won 78-62. This year's game at the Yuengling Center will be the third time the two teams have played each other. South Carolina is 2-0 heading into the matchup.
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Coach Jose Fernandez led the Bulls to his 14th straight 19-win season in 2024-25, finishing with a 23-11 record (13-4 AAC). Last season, USF upset then No. 10 Duke, 65-56, on Dec. 21 to pick up its first ranked win since 2022.
The Gamecocks' season opener has yet to be announced but a few non-conference games are on the schedule, all of which are road matches.
South Carolina will play Southern California in a bicoastal series with games in 2025 and 2026. The first game will be Nov. 15 at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. The Trojans finished 31-4 last season and lost in the Elite Eight to UConn on March 31. UConn went on to beat South Carolina in the national championship.
After their first west coast trip, the Gamecocks will return to play in the inaugural Players Era Women's Championship in Las Vegas in late November. The exact dates have not been revealed but it will be the week of Thanksgiving. South Carolina will pay Duke, Texas and UCLA in a round-robin format in the tournament.
South Carolina women's basketball 2025-26 schedule
Nov. 15 at Southern Cal
Nov. 23-29 (estimated time frame): vs. Texas, Duke, UCLA in Las Vegas
Dec. 18 at USF
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REQUIRED READING: Dawn Staley's home is with South Carolina women's basketball but she's forever Philadelphia
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball, Dawn Staley to play USF on Dec. 18
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