South Carolina women’s basketball is off to a dominant 4-0 start. The Gamecocks crushed rival Clemson 65-37 on Tuesday and then headed to Los Angeles, where they took down the No. 8 Southern Cal Trojans 69-52 in the opening game of the “Real SC” series. The two programs will meet again next season in Greenville.
Entering the year ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason top 25, South Carolina held firm in the same spot in last week’s poll update.
On Monday, the AP released its week three rankings, and as expected, the Gamecocks remained at No. 2. After earning four first-place votes in the preseason and two in last week’s poll, USC added a third this week. UConn continues to lead the way at No. 1 with 28 first-place votes.
Below is the full AP Top 25 (first-place votes in parentheses):
- UConn Huskies (28)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (3)
- UCLA Bruins (1)
- Texas Longhorns
- LSU Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Baylor Bears
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Maryland Terrapins
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Southern Cal Trojans
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Ole Miss Rebels
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers
- NC State Wolfpack
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Louisville Cardinals
- Michigan State Spartans
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Washington Huskies
Also receiving votes: Duke, Minnesota, Ohio State, Stanford, South Dakota State, Nebraska, Richmond, Princeton, Fairfield.
South Carolina hasn’t dropped lower than seventh in the AP poll since the preseason rankings of 2019–2020. That season, the Gamecocks finished No. 1 nationally before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Their current No. 2 ranking places them atop the SEC, with South Carolina leading a league that boasts eight teams inside the top 25.
The upcoming schedule is loaded. South Carolina is set to play 10 teams currently in the AP poll during the 2025–26 campaign. They’ve already defeated No. 11 Southern Cal and still have matchups scheduled against No. 21 Louisville, No. 4 Texas, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 5 LSU, No. 13 Ole Miss, and No. 20 Kentucky. The Gamecocks could also meet No. 3 UCLA at the Players Era Championship; if not, they will face No. 4 Texas there. Duke, which is receiving votes, is also on the schedule.
This week brings two home games against Charlotte-area programs.
On Wednesday, South Carolina hosts the Winthrop Eagles at Colonial Life Arena at 7 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network and stream on the ESPN app. Winthrop enters at 2-2 overall after beating Queens on Saturday.
Then on Sunday, Queens will make the trip to Columbia for a 2 p.m. matchup. That game will stream on SEC Network+. The Royals also hold a 2-2 record but are coming off back-to-back losses, including Saturday’s defeat to Winthrop.
