South Carolina women’s basketball finally invited to White House, but it’s too late

South Carolina’s White House invitation saga finally came to an end.

USC released a statement from Dawn Staley on the matter Thursday night following the Gamecocks 66-36 win over Clemson.

South Carolina was invited to the White House earlier this month, but the Gamecocks will be unable to attend.

“We did hear from the White House about attending [Friday’s] event, but we will not be able to attend,” Staley said. “As I’ve been saying since our practices for this season started, all of our focus is on the season ahead. The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.”

The White House is holding Collegiate National Champions Day on Friday. The Florida baseball team is among those that will be honored.

South Carolina has a game on Sunday, with a practice scheduled for Friday.

USC is 3-0 on the season and earned a 94-86 win at No. 15 Maryland earlier this week. No. 4 South Carolina will host Wofford on Sunday.

The Gamecocks won their first national title last season. Staley said in June the team would go if invited. An invitation was reportedly not forthcoming, and after a promise from former Governor Nikki Haley, scheduling still proved problematic.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 9:40 PM with the headline "South Carolina women’s basketball finally invited to White House, but it’s too late."