South Carolina Gamecocks Set for SEC Tournament Battle Against Vanderbilt
The South Carolina Gamecocks now know their opponent for the third round of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
After securing the No. 1 seed, thanks in part to a crucial coin flip tiebreaker against Texas, the Gamecocks have been waiting to see who they’ll face in their tournament opener. Now, that question has been answered.
Vanderbilt emerged victorious in Thursday’s matchup against Tennessee, setting up a showdown with South Carolina. The Commodores had previously knocked off Texas A&M in the first round after the Volunteers demolished the Aggies by 40 points.
During the regular season, the Gamecocks dominated Vanderbilt with an 82-54 victory. However, head coach Dawn Staley knows that tournament play brings new challenges.
Staley Stresses Discipline for Deep Tournament Run
After the regular season finale win over Kentucky, Staley spoke about the keys to success in the SEC Tournament.
“It’s by far the toughest one we’ve entered. What do we need to do (to win)? I mean, we got depth – you need depth in this tournament to win this tournament. You need to take care of the basketball; you need to rebound. And you need to take good shots.”
She emphasized the importance of execution, noting that every team must be “very disciplined” to survive and advance.
“Our players are familiar with the tournament and with having success in the tournament, but that actually goes down the drain. It starts over, it starts anew, because we have two teams that we didn’t have to deal with last year – and that’s Texas and Oklahoma. They have an impact on the outcome of the regular season and now, in the tournament.”
Game Time Set for Gamecocks’ Tournament Opener
The Gamecocks will take the court Friday at 12:00 PM ET against Vanderbilt. If they win, they will face the winner of Kentucky’s third-round matchup as they continue their pursuit of another SEC Tournament title.
