March Madness 2025: Previewing South Carolina's Women's Final Four Chances
Dawn Staley has built the South Carolina Gamecocks into a juggernaut of a program. In the last decade, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team with a track record of more success in the last decade.
Three national titles. Multiple national players of the year. Another four Final Four appearances. Lost five or more games just three times in the last 10 seasons. This program is a powerhouse, and they just keep getting better.
This year, though, things feel a bit different. Sure, the Gamecocks have been good, and yes, they were the second-best number one seed in the tournament. But when you look at their roster, this isn't the star-studded cast of characters of years past.
Can South Carolina bring home another title? Or will a slightly flawed roster catch up to them and send them home in the Final Four for the third time in five years? Let's break it down.
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Biggest Strengths: This is probably the deepest team in all of college basketball. Staley rolls 10 deep, and seven different Gamecocks have been the team's leading scorer this season.
Joyce Edwards leads the team in scoring, but this is a versatile, flexible squad who can beat you in a variety of ways. Edwards slashes and cuts and knocks down mid-range jumpers with the best of them, Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin can bully teams on the interior, Milaysia Fulwiley is one of the best slashing scorers in the sport, and Te-Hina Paopao and Tessa Johnson can knock down threes. No matter how you're going to play them, the Gamecocks likely have the personnel to handle it and play well.
Staley's impact cannot be overstated, either. She remains the best coach in college basketball right now, and her work with this team is nothing short of masterful. They're not the dominant force they've been in years past, but she knows what buttons she needs to push to get the most out of this squad and get the desired results. They're battle-tested and they won't back down from a fight.
Biggest Weakness: This is arguably the most beatable South Carolina team in the last five seasons. Teams know how to beat them, and specifically, all three of the other teams in the Final Four know how to beat them, because they've done it this season. Even more troubling, each of those wins came in a different way.
They've looked disjointed at times, especially offensively, and have had to grind much more than they have in years past. Edwards has struggled in the tournament, scoring just 15 points in the Gamecocks' last three games, and has been turning the ball over as teams press her more. Edwards is a freshman, but she needs to hurry up and find her rhythm again in the Final Four, because that's a weakness that can be exploited.
South Carolina's lack of consistent, go-to scorer could also prove troublesome in the clutch. The Gamecocks are deep and talented, but when the chips are down, there's not a player on the roster right now who can put the team on their back and be the go-to clutch scorer.
Best-Case Scenario: The Gamecocks continue to find ways to win against good teams, relying on their depth and experience to keep them afloat for two more games, as Staley pushes the right buttons, and they learn from their previous defeats to the remaining teams.
Worst-Case Scenario: South Carolina finds themselves on the receiving end of another loss to Texas, in a game where they get pushed around in the paint and can't get anything going offensively. The Longhorns' incredible defense frustrates Edwards and enhances the worst of this team's bad habits, and do just enough to send them home in the Final Four again.