South Carolina women’s basketball rolls into December carrying its first blemish of the season. The Gamecocks took a heartbreaking loss to Texas on a buzzer-beater during the Players Era Championship, just one day after defeating Duke in the opener. With that split, USC sits at 7-1 overall and is preparing for another ranked road matchup.
As the team resets for its upcoming trip, the Associated Press released its Week 5 Top 25 rankings, and South Carolina slipped one spot to No. 3 following last week’s defeat. Dawn Staley’s squad now sits behind UConn and Texas in the national polls.
For the first time this season, the Gamecocks did not receive a single first-place vote. UConn held tight at No. 1 with 22 first-place votes, while Texas—after beating both top-5 UCLA and South Carolina—climbed to No. 2 and picked up 10 first-place votes of its own.
Below is the full AP Top 25 (first-place votes in parentheses):
- UConn Huskies (22)
- Texas Longhorns (10)
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- UCLA Bruins
- LSU Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Maryland Terrapins
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Iowa State Cyclones
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Baylor Bears
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Southern Cal Trojans
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Washington Huskies
- Louisville Cardinals
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- West Virginia Mountaineers
Also receiving votes: NC State, Nebraska, Richmond, Texas Tech, Princeton, Oregon, Georgia, Stanford, Fairfield, Alabama.
South Carolina has not dropped below No. 7 in the AP Poll at any point since the 2019–2020 preseason, a season they ended ranked No. 1 before COVID-19 shut down March Madness.
Currently sitting at No. 3, the Gamecocks rank second among SEC teams—behind Texas—and are one of eight SEC programs appearing in the Top 25.
This year’s schedule is loaded: South Carolina faces 10 ranked opponents, including matchups with Louisville (22), Texas (2), Oklahoma (9), Vanderbilt (15), Tennessee (19), LSU (5), Ole Miss (13), and Kentucky (17). USC has already beaten USC (No. 16) and fallen to Texas.
A Busy Week Ahead
The Gamecocks play two games this week—one on the road, one at home.
Thursday, December 4
USC heads to Louisville to take on the Cardinals in the ACC/SEC Challenge at the KFC Yum! Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m., broadcast on ESPN and streamed on the ESPN app.
South Carolina has won each of its first two Challenge games—beating North Carolina in 2023-24 and Duke in 2024-25. The Gamecocks are also 2-0 all-time vs. Jeff Walz in the series under Dawn Staley, including the 2022 Final Four win on the way to a national title. USC leads the broader series 18-4.
Sunday, December 7
The Gamecocks return to Colonial Life Arena for their first home appearance in two weeks, hosting North Carolina Central at noon. The game airs on SEC Network and will stream on the ESPN app.
Though the teams haven’t met in over ten years, USC is 2-0 historically against the Eagles.
