Dawn Staley Claims No. 1 Seed for Gamecocks After SEC Championship Win

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley declared that her team deserves to be the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament after an impressive performance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, which concluded with a 64-45 victory over No. 1 Texas in the championship game on March 9, 2025.

The Gamecocks, with a record of 30-3, entered the SEC Tournament ranked fifth nationally and were projected as a No. 2 seed. However, following decisive wins against their league opponents—by margins of 18, 21, and 19 points—their chances of securing a No. 1 seed have significantly improved.

Staley believes her team’s accomplishments warrant more recognition. “When you win this tournament and play the schedule that we play, I do think we’re the No. 1 overall seed,” she said. “We manufactured our schedule to put ourselves in this situation. So I hope the committee doesn’t discount our entire resume. There isn’t anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we have played, that had share of the regular season title, won this tournament and beat the No. 1 team in the country. … there is no one.”

The Gamecocks’ resume this season includes 12 wins against teams ranked in the Top 25, with two victories against Texas. Their performance against Top 10 teams stands at 7-3, and their three losses were against highly ranked opponents: No. 1 Texas, No. 3 Connecticut, and No. 4 UCLA.

Notably, South Carolina’s 30-game regular-season schedule comprised 13 matchups against teams in the AP Top 25 when they faced them—two more than any other ranked team. Staley expressed her surprise at being informed that her team was designated as the No. 2 seed entering the tournament.

“If you get so much credit for beating us, and yet when we have had some of the toughest stretches in the country and came out of it unscathed, you can’t discount that,” Staley stated. “You can’t discredit that. I’m going to speak up about it because you have to hear the voice of the other side. Because if you don’t think our body of works deserves it, then you need to speak out on it.”

Staley concluded with determination, stating, “I’m going to go down fighting for what our team earned.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.