Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks complete 2020-21 schedule. Here are the highlights
Less than two weeks from the start of play, South Carolina women’s basketball’s schedule is now complete, as the SEC released its conference schedule for 2020-21 on Friday.
In total, coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, ranked No. 1 in the nation in the AP preseason poll, will play 16 league games and eight nonconference games. SEC play will start New Year’s Eve at home against Ole Miss and wrap up Feb. 28 against preseason No. 14 Texas A&M.
USC will hit the road for arguably its biggest conference matchup of the year, a Jan. 28 tilt with preseason No. 6 Mississippi State in Starkville. The Bulldogs have established themselves as the Gamecocks’ biggest rivals for SEC dominance over the past several years, and they are now coached by former South Carolina assistant Nikki McCray-Penson, who took the job this offseason.
In addition to that showdown with MSU, South Carolina will have two matchups with preseason No. 11 Kentucky — the Wildcats are led by junior Rhyne Howard, the defending SEC Player of the Year and a contender with USC’s own Aliyah Boston for national player of the year this season. UK coach Matthew Mitchell also announced his surprise retirement Thursday due to health issues.
That first game against Kentucky will be on the road in Lexington on Jan. 10, with the home game coming near the end of the season on Feb. 21.
Preseason No. 13 Arkansas, a feisty squad returning a veteran backcourt, will come to Columbia on Jan. 18, the lone home game for South Carolina in a five-game stretch.
Towards the end of the schedule, however, the Gamecocks close with four out of their final six games at home. The road contests, however, could be consequential — there’s a Feb. 18 trip to Tennessee, who received votes in the preseason poll and features plenty of talent, and the regular season finale against the Aggies, a squad that lost star Chennedy Carter to the WNBA but still returns most of their production from last year’s 22-8 squad.
There’s also a Feb. 11 home matchup with rival Missouri, though that series has lost some of its edge as the Tigers have taken a step back — they lost last year’s game 78-45.
COVID-19 restrictions and protocols have thrown a wrench into scheduling for programs across the country, and NCAA recommendations during the pandemic call for a minimum of four nonconference games. Teams are allowed to schedule a maximum of 23 games and one “multi-team event,” an early season tournament with up to three games. The Gamecocks’ complete schedule of 24 games is six fewer than the 30 they played in the regular season games a year ago.
Also because of COVID-19, the normally raucous environments the Gamecocks have enjoyed at Colonial Life Arena over the past several years will be limited — attendance will be limited to 3,500 people at home games, and fans will have to wear face coverings at all times.
South Carolina women’s basketball 2020-21 schedule
Nov. 25 — vs. College of Charleston
Nov. 28-30 — Women’s Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Nov. 28 — vs. South Dakota
Nov. 29 — vs. Oklahoma
Nov. 30 — vs. Gonzaga
Dec. 3 — vs. North Carolina State
Dec. 6 — at Iowa State
Dec. 17 — vs. Temple
Dec. 31 — vs. Ole Miss
Jan. 4 — at Alabama
Jan. 7 — vs. Georgia
Jan. 10 — at Kentucky
Jan. 14 — at Vanderbilt
Jan. 18 — vs. Arkansas
Jan. 24 — at LSU
Jan. 28 — at Mississippi State
Jan. 31 — vs. Alabama
Feb. 4 — at Auburn
Feb. 8 — at UConn
Feb. 11 — vs. Missouri
Feb. 14 — vs. LSU
Feb. 18 — at Tennessee
Feb. 21 — vs. Kentucky
Feb. 25 — vs. Florida
Feb. 28 — at Texas A&M
Home games in bold
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 10:30 AM.
