2022–23 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

The 2022–23 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by 15th-year head coach Dawn Staley, played their home games at Colonial Life Arena and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[1][2]

2022–23 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
SEC Regular Season Champions
SEC Tournament Champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 1
Record36–1 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaColonial Life Arena
Seasons
2022–23 SEC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 South Carolina 16 0   1.000 36 1   .973
No. 9 LSU 15 1   .938 34 2   .944
No. 24 Tennessee 13 3   .813 25 12   .676
Ole Miss 11 5   .688 25 9   .735
Mississippi State 9 7   .563 22 11   .667
Georgia 9 7   .563 22 12   .647
Alabama 9 7   .563 20 11   .645
Arkansas 7 9   .438 24 13   .649
Missouri 6 10   .375 18 14   .563
Florida 5 11   .313 19 14   .576
Auburn 5 11   .313 16 15   .516
Vanderbilt 3 13   .188 12 19   .387
Kentucky 2 14   .125 12 19   .387
Texas A&M 2 14   .125 9 20   .310
2023 SEC tournament winner
As of April 2, 2023
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Gamecocks finished the season with a 35–2 overall record and a 15–1 record in conference play. The Gamecocks lost the SEC Tournament. They therefore received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, where they reached the national championship, defeating UConn 64–49.

Offseason

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2022 recruiting class

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The Gamecocks signed the #6 class for 2022 according to ESPN.[3]

Chloe Kitts reclassified to the class of 2022.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ashlyn Watkins
#4 P
Columbia, SC Cardinal Newman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Nov 17, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 97
Talyasia Cooper
#4 PG
Turbeville, SC East Clarendon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) N/A Oct 23, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 96
Chloe Kitts
#3 F
Oviedo, FL DME Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A Nov 4, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings:   ESPN: 6
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2022 South Carolina Gamecocks Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Kierra Fletcher 41 G 5'9" 5th Year Warren, MI Transferred from Georgia Tech.

Preseason

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Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley enters her fifteenth year at South Carolina, fresh off winning her 2nd national championship in the 2022 Women's Final Four winning all six games as head coach of South Carolina.[4]

Award watch lists

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Award Player Position Year

Preseason All-American teams

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SEC coaches poll

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The SEC coaches poll was released on October 18, 2022.[5]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team
1 South Carolina
2 Tennessee
3 LSU
4 Ole Miss
5 Arkansas
6 Georgia
7 Alabama
8 Florida
9 Mississippi State
10 Kentucky
11 Texas A&M
12 Missouri
13 Auburn
14 Vanderbilt

SEC Media Poll

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SEC media poll
Predicted finish Team
1 South Carolina
2 Tennessee
3 LSU
4 Arkansas
5 Ole Miss
6 Florida
7 Kentucky
8 Mississippi State
9 Georgia
10 Alabama
11 Texas A&M
12 Missouri
13 Auburn
14 Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC teams

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The preseason all-SEC women's basketball team was announced on November 3, 2022.[6]

Roster

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2022–23 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Olivia Thompson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Lexington     Lexington, SC    
G 1 Zia Cooke 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Rogers     Toledo, OH    
F 3 Ashlyn Watkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Cardinal Newman     Columbia, SC    
F 4 Aliyah Boston 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Sr Worcester Academy     Saint Thomas, VI    
F 5 Victaria Saxton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Model     Rome, GA    
C 10 Kamilla Cardoso 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Jr Hamilton Heights    
Syracuse  
Montes Claros, BR    
G 11 Talaysia Cooper 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr East Clarendon     Turbeville, SC    
G 12 Brea Beal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Rock Island     Rock Island, IL    
F 15 Laeticia Amihere 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Sr Kings Way Christian     Milton, ON  
G 20 Sania Feagin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Forest Park     Ellenwood, GA   
G 21 Chloe Kitts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr DME Academy     Oviedo, FL   
G 23 Bree Hall 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Wayne     Dayton, OH    
G 25 Raven Johnson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Westlake     Atlanta, GA    
G 41 Kierra Fletcher 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Cousino    
Georgia Tech  
Warren, MI    
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 18, 2021

Starting lineup

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South Carolina Position
Aliyah Boston F
Victaria Saxton F
Brea Beal G
Zia Cooke G
Kierra Fletcher G

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 31, 2022*
7:00 p.m.
No. 1 Benedict W 123–32 
 19  Tied   12  Feagin   6  Tied  Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
Regular season
November 7, 2022*
8:30 p.m., SECN
No. 1 East Tennessee State W 101–31  1–0
 17  Cooke   11  Boston   4  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (12,779)
Columbia, SC
November 11, 2022*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 at No. 17 Maryland W 81–56  2–0
 18  Cooke   13  Boston   4  Beal  Xfinity Center (9,244)
College Park, MD
November 17, 2022*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 1 at Clemson W 85–31  3–0
 15  Cooke   7  Beal   5  Johnson  Littlejohn Coliseum (3,051)
Clemson, SC
November 20, 2022*
3:00 p.m., ABC
No. 1 at No. 2 Stanford W 76–71 OT 4–0
 14  Boston   13  Boston   4  Cooke  Maples Pavilion (7,287)
Stanford, CA
November 22, 2022*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 1 at Cal Poly W 79–36  5–0
 13  Amihere   11  Watkins   5  Tied  Mott Athletics Center (2,384)
San Luis Obispo, CA
November 27, 2022*
12:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Hampton W 85–38  6–0
 14  Tied   14  Cardoso   5  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (11,659)
Columbia, SC
November 29, 2022*
7:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 No. 15 UCLA W 74–64  7–0
 18  Boston   10  Tied   3  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (12,501)
Columbia, SC
December 3, 2022*
3:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Memphis W 79–54  8–0
 18  Cardoso   10  Tied   5  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (11,943)
Columbia, SC
December 11, 2022*
2:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Liberty W 88–39  9–0
 20  Cooke   9  Cardoso   5  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (11,787)
Columbia, SC
December 15, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 vs. South Dakota State W 62–44  10–0
 18  Cooke   15  Cardoso   3  Tied  Sanford Pentagon (2,369)
Sioux Falls, SD
December 18, 2022*
2:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Charleston Southern W 87–23  11–0
 16  Cooke   13  Boston   3  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (11,267)
Columbia, SC
December 21, 2022*
12:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Coastal Carolina W 102–39  12–0
 16  Watkins   10  Boston   6  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (11,649)
Columbia, SC
December 29, 2022
7:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 Texas A&M W 76–34  13–0
(1–0)
 15  Cooper   6  Tied   2  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (13,003)
Columbia, SC
January 2, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 at Georgia W 68–51  14–0
(2–0)
 31  Cooke   7  Cardoso   5  Beal  Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Athens, GA
January 5, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Auburn W 94–42  15–0
(3–0)
 16  Cardoso   9  Boston   7  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (11,552)
Columbia, SC
January 8, 2023
1:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 at Mississippi State W 58–51  16–0
(4–0)
 16  Cooke   15  Boston   4  Beal  Humphrey Coliseum (5,776)
Starkville, MS
January 12, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 at Kentucky W 95–66  17–0
(5–0)
 21  Boston   11  Boston   7  Johnson  Memorial Coliseum (4,016)
Lexington, KY
January 15, 2023
1:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Missouri W 81–50  18–0
(6–0)
 20  Boston   10  Boston   6  Beal  Colonial Life Arena (15,444)
Columbia, SC
January 19, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 at Vanderbilt W 96–48  19–0
(7–0)
 17  Cooke   15  Cardoso   4  Johnson  Memorial Gymnasium (3,028)
Nashville, TN
January 22, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 Arkansas W 92–46  20–0
(8–0)
 24  Cooke   16  Cardoso   3  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (13,349)
Columbia, SC
January 29, 2023
1:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 at Alabama W 65–52  21–0
(9–0)
 18  Hall   12  Boston   4  Tied  Coleman Coliseum (4,255)
Tuscaloosa, AL
February 2, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 Kentucky W 87–69  22–0
(10–0)
 14  Tied   14  Boston   4  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (12,743)
Columbia, SC
February 5, 2023*
12:00 p.m., FOX
No. 1 at No. 5 UConn W 81–77  23–0
 26  Boston   12  Boston   7  Johnson  XL Center (15,564)
Hartford, CT
February 9, 2023
8:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 at Auburn W 83–48  24–0
(11–0)
 15  Cooke   8  Boston   4  Tied  Neville Arena (2,860)
Auburn, AL
February 12, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 No. 3 LSU W 88–64  25–0
(12–0)
 18  Cardoso   13  Cardoso   4  Beal  Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Columbia, SC
February 16, 2023
7:00 p.m., SECN+
No. 1 Florida W 87–56  26–0
(13–0)
 22  Cooke   11  Cardoso   3  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (13,943)
Columbia, SC
February 19, 2023
4:00 p.m., SECN
No. 1 at Ole Miss W 64–57 OT 27–0
(14–0)
 24  Cooke   12  Boston   5  Beal  SJB Pavilion (6,563)
Oxford, MS
February 23, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 at Tennessee W 73–60  28–0
(15–0)
 19  Cooke   15  Cardoso   5  Beal  Thompson–Boling Arena (10,297)
Knoxville, TN
February 26, 2023
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 Georgia W 73–63  29–0
(16–0)
 25  Boston   11  Boston   4  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Columbia, SC
SEC Tournament
March 3, 2023
12:00 p.m., SECN
(1) No. 1 vs. (8) Arkansas
Quarterfinals
W 93–66  30–0
 19  Saxton   10  Boston   6  Johnson  Bon Secours Wellness Arena (7,481)
Greenville, SC
March 4, 2023
4:30 p.m., ESPNU
(1) No. 1 vs. (4) Ole Miss
Semifinals
W 80–51  31–0
 17  Amihere   12  Cardoso   7  Amihere  Bon Secours Wellness Arena (10,471)
Greenville, SC
March 5, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN
(1) No. 1 vs. (3) Tennessee
SEC Championship/College Gameday
W 74–58  32–0
 24  Cooke   8  Beal   6  Beal  Bon Secours Wellness Arena (12,203)
Greenville, SC
NCAA Tournament
March 17, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 G1) No. 1 (16 G1) Norfolk State
First Round
W 72–40  33–0
 11  Tied   9  Boston   7  Johnson  Colonial Life Arena (10,056)
Columbia, SC
March 19, 2023
1:00 p.m., ABC
(1 G1) No. 1 (8 G1) South Florida
Second Round
W 76–45  34–0
 21  Cooke   11  Boston   3  Tied  Colonial Life Arena (10,335)
Columbia, SC
March 25, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 G1) No. 1 vs. (4 G1) No. 14 UCLA
Sweet Sixteen
W 59–43  35–0
 10  Tied   14  Boston   5  Fletcher  Bon Secours Wellness Arena (12,879)
Greenville, SC
March 27, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 G1) No. 1 vs. (2 G1) No. 7 Maryland
Elite Eight
W 86–75  36–0
 22  Boston   10  Boston   6  Beal  Bon Secours Wellness Arena (11,144)
Greenville, SC
March 31, 2023*
9:30 p.m., ESPN
(1 G1) No. 1 vs. (2 S4) No. 3 Iowa
Final Four
L 73–77[7]  36–1
 24  Cooke   14  Cardoso   3  Boston  American Airlines Center (19,288)
Dallas, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
G1=Greenville 1 S4=Seattle 4.
All times are in Eastern Time.
[8]

[9]

Statistics

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Team total per game

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Team PTS FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% REB AST STL BLK ATT
Gamecocks 2606 983 2090 47% 141 448 32% 499 716 70% 1587 537 215 288 199,619
Opponents 1635 599 1907 31% 127 498 26% 310 442 70% 930 257 181 125 113,074

Team average per game

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Team PPG FG FG% 3P 3P% FT FT% REB AST STL BLK ATT
Gamecocks –'
Opponents

Individual total per game

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Player GP MP PTS FGM FGA FG% 3M 3A 3P% FTM FTA FT% ORB DRB REB AST TO STL BLK
Aliyah Boston
Zia Cooke
Laeticia Amihere
Victaria Saxton
Kamilla Cardoso
Brea Beal
Bree Hall
Sania Feagin
Olivia Thompson
Raven Johnson
Ashlyn Watkins
Talaysia Cooper
Kierra Fletcher
Chloe Kitts

Individual average per game

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Player GP MIN FG% 3P% FT% OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK PPG
Aliyah Boston 31 25 57% 12% 77% 3.4 6.8 9.7 1.8 0.5 2.0 13.3
Zia Cooke 32
Laeticia Amihere
Victoria Saxton
Kamilla Cardoso
Brea Beal
Bree Hall
Sania Feagin
Olivia Thompson
Raven Johnson
Ashlyn Watkins
Talaysia Cooper
Kierra Fletcher
Chloe Kitts

Rankings

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Regular Season Polls
Poll Pre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Week
17
Week
18
Week
19
Final
AP 1 (30) 1 (30) 1 (29) 1 (29) 1 (29) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (27) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (28)
Coaches 1 (30) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (32) 1 (31) 1 (32) 1 (30) 1 (32) 3
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV   Received votes
NR   Not ranked
( )   Number of first place votes

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Adams, Emily (August 26, 2022). "How South Carolina women's basketball, Dawn Staley can finish regular season undefeated". Greenville News. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Adams, Emily (October 26, 2022). "South Carolina has pieces in place to repeat as women's basketball national champions". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 women's college basketball recruiting class rankings: UCLA overtakes Oregon at No. 1". ESPN. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Staley leads South Carolina over UConn for second NCAA title". Gamecocks Online. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "SEC women's basketball order of finish for 2022-23 season projected by USA TODAY Sports Network". USA TODAY Sports Network. October 18, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "Preseason All-SEC women's basketball team, plus player and coach awards for 2022-23 season". Knoxville News Sentinel. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "Clark scores 41 as Iowa tops defending champ South Carolina". Associated Press. March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  8. ^ 2022–23 Women's Basketball Schedule
  9. ^ "Women's Basketball SEC Schedule Announced". GamecocksOnline.com. September 8, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.