How to watch, top storylines for South Carolina WBB’s two-game Florida road trip
The No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball team is hitting the road once again this week.
Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks (10-1) will play at South Florida on Thursday and at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday to wrap up their pre-Christmas slate.
South Carolina is currently riding a three-game win streak after beating Penn State 95-55 this past Sunday.
Here’s what to watch for in USC’s games this week:
Solid mid-major matchups
The Gamecocks should be back in Columbia next week with two more wins to their name.
South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast have proven to be solid mid-major programs in recent years, but South Carolina is still projected to be favored by more than 20 points in both matchups, per BartTorvik (a WBB analytics site).
USF enters Thursday’s matchup with a 6-5 record, pretty good considering the Bulls lost long-time head coach Jose Fernandez to the WNBA just before the 2025-26 season began. South Florida made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in his 25-year tenure, including four trips in the last five years. South Florida is now led by interim head coach Michele Woods-Baxter, who has been at USF since 2008.
South Carolina is 2-0 all-time against USF. The last matchup came in Colonial Life Arena last year.
Florida Gulf Coast is 3-5 to start the 2025-26 season. The Eagles are also under the direction of new coach Raina Harmon after losing long-time head coach Karl Smesko (and then his replacement, Chelsea Lyles) to the WNBA last year. Florida Gulf Coast has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons.
South Carolina and FGCU have played once. The Gamecocks won that game (in a neutral site) back in 2012.
“[They will] spread you out,” Staley said. “South Florida likes to screen — on ball screen, off ball screening, just a lot of movement. And the same for Florida Gulf Coast. These are two teams that will allow us, hopefully if we get to the NCAA Tournament, that it broadens our perspective on who we could possibly play and playing those type of teams that move incredibly well without the ball. We’ll familiarize ourselves if we ever have to play a team like that.”
Monitoring South Carolina’s health
Things seem to be trending in the right direction for Staley and the Gamecocks, health-wise.
South Carolina only has 10 active players on the roster but has played more games with fewer than 10 players due to suspension, injuries and illnesses.
Forward Madina Okot (illness) and guard Agot Makeer (concussion protocol) missed South Carolina’s most recent game on Sunday against Penn State. After the game, Staley said both were “day to day” and that USC planned to be conservative about returning them to the lineup.
On Wednesday, Staley told the local media that both Okot and Makeer are making the trip to Florida this week and their playing status (for at least the USF game) will depend on how they feel Thursday.
Regardless, Staley said the time without Okot and Makeer was good for developing the rest of South Carolina’s bench.
“She was out, which allowed some of our younger players or inexperienced players to get playing time,” Staley said. “I do think we’re a better team because (Makeer) was out and Madina was out. I think we’re just better. Our practices are — today was more lean. You can see the progress in our preparation. So it’s a good thing.”
Keep an eye on the box score
Here are few sections of the stat sheet you should pay attention to while South Carolina is in Florida this week:
- Scoring: South Carolina is averaging 90.5 points per game this year, good for No. 8 in the country. The Gamecocks are averaging 108.2 points when playing mid-major opponents this season. Each time South Carolina has scored more than 100 points this year, it’s been against a mid-major opponent.
- Rebounding: South Carolina is No. 15 in the country for rebounding margin (12.2). The Gamecocks’ size in the post often gives them an advantage on the glass, as USC has only been out-rebounded twice this season. With Okot out last game, South Carolina was out-rebounded against Penn State. If Okot can’t play this week, someone will need to step up for the Gamecocks in the rebound department.
- Free throws: The Gamecocks have shown some signs of inconsistency at the free throw line so far this year. South Carolina is shooting 71.1% as a team from the charity stripe and had a season-low 53.6% performance against Penn State. There were only two games USC made less than 60% of its free throws last year as a team. South Carolina has already hit that mark 11 games into the 2025-26 season.
Schedule: How to watch South Carolina WBB this week
—South Carolina vs USF—
- When: Thursday at 7 p.m.
- Where: Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida
- Watch: ESPN2 (Eric Frede, Debbie Antonelli) or the ESPN app
- Listen: 106.5 FM, Sirius 106 or 190 and the SiriusXM app
—South Carolina vs Florida Gulf Coast—
- When: Saturday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.
- Where: Alico Arena in Fort Meyers, Florida
- Watch: ESPN+ or the ESPN app
- Listen: 106.5 FM, Sirius 106 or 190 and the SiriusXM app
