South Carolina Basketball: Women take home another SEC title

The South Carolina basketball team won last week’s SEC Tournament.

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team took home another Southeastern Conference title on Sunday, the program’s sixth SEC tournament title in the last seven seasons. Staley’s Gamecocks took down seventh-seeded Alabama, third-seeded Tennessee, and fourth-seeded Georgia in consecutive nights to cut down the nets in Greenville.

In the championship matchup, South Carolina used a monster third quarter to pull away from the 16th-ranked Bulldogs, outscoring their opponent 17-8 in the period to break open what had been a tie game at halftime.

Aliyah Boston had a monster performance, as the forward led the team in scoring, posting 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She added 10 rebounds to earn the double-double, while also blocking four Georgia shots. It was Boston’s third straight double-double, which led to her being voted as the tournament’s MVP.

Georgia held tight with the Gamecocks for the majority of the game, scoring 23 points in the first quarter, jumping out to an early lead, and shooting 52% as a team from the field in the first half. The Carolina defense stepped up after halftime, though, holding the Bulldogs to just 27 points over the final two quarters.

Que Morrison led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while center Jenna Staiti added another 10 in the paint. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Gamecocks, but they’ll try to regroup and prepare for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The Gamecocks, too, will await its fate in March Madness, though Dawn Staley’s crew projects to be a No. 1 seed. The selection committee will unveil its decision next Monday at 7 PM.

BULLDOGS, GAMECOCKS MAKE HISTORY

Not only was the game itself exciting, the Bulldogs and Gamecocks provided viewers with the NCAA’s first women’s conference championship matchup featuring two Black head coaches.

Dawn Staley emphasized the significance of the feat following the win.

"“What you saw gives Black women hope.”"

Georgia head coach Joni Taylor also noted the importance of seeing two Black women leading their teams into championship night, and while disappointed by the loss, she was proud of making history.

"”You can’t dream what you can’t see.”"

What Staley, Taylor, and their respective teams were able to accomplish this week cannot be understated, as it gives the next generation of Black women a new vision of the future of college athletics.