South Carolina women’s basketball enters Thanksgiving week unbeaten at 6-0, rolling into the Geico Players Era Championship with enormous momentum. After piling up 227 total points in dominant wins over Winthrop and Queens, Dawn Staley’s squad appears locked in offensively as it heads to Las Vegas.
Ahead of the team’s trip, the Associated Press released its Week 4 Top 25, and South Carolina remains firmly in its familiar spot: No. 2 in the nation. The Gamecocks have held that position since the preseason.
South Carolina received one first-place vote, a slight dip from last week’s three. Meanwhile, UConn stays at No. 1 with 30 first-place votes, and UCLA also earned one to match the Gamecocks.
Below is the AP Top 25 for this week (first-place votes in parentheses):
- UConn Huskies (30)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (1)
- UCLA Bruins (1)
- Texas
- LSU
- Michigan
- Maryland
- TCU
- Oklahoma
- Iowa State
- Iowa
- North Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Baylor
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
- Southern Cal
- Notre Dame
- Michigan State
- West Virginia
- Washington
- Louisville
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
Teams receiving votes include Stanford, Ohio State, Nebraska, Princeton, and others.
South Carolina has remained a staple near the top of the rankings. Remarkably, the Gamecocks haven’t fallen lower than seventh at any point since the 2019–2020 preseason poll, the year they finished No. 1 before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to Covid-19.
USC’s No. 2 ranking is also the highest in the SEC, which currently features eight teams in the AP Top 25.
This season’s schedule is stacked with challenges: South Carolina is set to play 10 currently ranked opponents. The Gamecocks already defeated No. 18 USC and still have upcoming matchups with No. 23 Louisville, No. 4 Texas, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 5 LSU, No. 13 Ole Miss, and No. 16 Kentucky. Depending on outcomes in Las Vegas, they may also face No. 3 UCLA.
This week, the Gamecocks have two major tests at the Players Era Championship:
Game 1: South Carolina vs Duke
- Wednesday, November 26
- Approx. 4:30 p.m. ET, following UCLA vs Texas
- Broadcast: TruTV / HBO Max
Duke opened the year as a top-10 preseason team but slipped out of the rankings after three early losses. Still, the Blue Devils, coached by Kara Lawson, remain dangerous. South Carolina currently owns a six-game win streak over Duke, a run that goes back to A’ja Wilson’s senior year.
Championship Game or Consolation Game
On Thanksgiving night (Nov. 27), South Carolina will face either UCLA or Texas—both top-five opponents.
- Championship Game: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Third-Place Game: approx. 10:30 p.m. ET
- Broadcast: TruTV / HBO Max
No matter the outcome, South Carolina is guaranteed to face an elite national contender.
With an undefeated record, a dominant offense, and a deep schedule ahead, the Gamecocks enter Thanksgiving week poised for one of their biggest early-season tests.
