What a day for the No. 1 team in the country
The South Carolina Gamecocks clinched the regular season Southeastern Conference title Sunday with a 67-58 win over Kentucky in Lexington (coupled with Mississippi State’s loss to Alabama) and Dawn Staley earned her 300th win at South Carolina. She’s been at the school since 2008.
“All the former players who have dedicated their college careers to us here in South Carolina, they’re are big a part of why that happens and our staff as well,” Staley said following the game. “I don’t really look at the number of wins, but I do like how we’re regular season champions in a tough conference, if not the best conference. When you’re the number one in this conference, it’s saying something special.”
HOW BOUT THEM @GamecockWBB?!!! Thank you FAMs for praying for and believing into existence. We are @SEC champs and look to continue to make you proud. #ToGodBetheGlory #fortheculture #SCWomanUp
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) February 23, 2020
Not only is this SEC Championship the Gamecocks’ fifth in the last seven seasons, it most regular-season victories by a program since Tennessee won (or shared) seven titles from 1998-2004 and marks South Carolina’s 200th regular-season SEC win.
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This title also is the second for seniors Tyasha Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. In the past two seasons, Mississippi State won the last two regular season titles and the 2019 tournament. South Carolina won the two before that.
“It feels amazing just because I was part of that history when I first came in here (2016-17) and I was part of the team that lost it, so it was good to just bring it back home,” Harris said.
But Harris, like Staley, is focused more on closing out the season.
“Yeah, she always praises us, but she always likes to say, ‘Don’t sip the Kool-Aid,’ and we don’t want to do that either because we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” she said. “She always praises us and always motivates us.”
The Gamecocks next play at Florida and host Texas A&M before heading to Greenville, South Carolina for the 2020 SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The top four seeds in the conference get a double bye in the tournament, and right now those teams are South Carolina (14-0), Mississippi State (11-3), Texas A&M (10-4) and Arkansas (9-5). Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee currently round out the top 7.
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