South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball

South Carolina Gamecocks

2015–16 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

University

University of South Carolina

Conference

SEC

Location

Columbia, SC

Head coach

Dawn Staley (8th year)

Arena

Colonial Life Arena
(Capacity: 18,000)

Nickname

Gamecocks

Colors

Garnet and Black^[1]

Uniforms

Home

Away

Alternate

NCAA/AIAW Tournament Final Four

1980, 2015

NCAA/AIAW Tournament Elite Eight

1980, 2002, 2015

NCAA/AIAW Tournament Sweet Sixteen

1980, 1982, 1990, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016

NCAA/AIAW Tournament second round

1980, 1982, 1988, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

NCAA/AIAW Tournament appearances

1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Conference tournament champions

Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989
SEC: 2015, 2016

Conference regular season champions

Metro Conference: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
SEC: 2014, 2015, 2016

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The program enjoyed success under head coach Nancy Wilson during the 1980s in the Metro Conference, when it won five regular season conference championships and three conference tournament championships. Under current head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks have improved their win totals every year, culminating in winning the SEC Championship in 2014, 2015, and 2016. They gained number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015. Following the 2014 season, Staley signed the second-ranked recruiting class in the country, highlighted by the overall top-rated recruit, A'ja Wilson.

History

The first Gamecocks women's basketball team to compete at an intercollegiate level was in 1923 when they were called the Pullets.

The first varsity team, known as the Carolina Chicks, took to the court in January 1974 under the guidance of Pam Backhaus. The inaugural team compiled a record of 15–7 and were the South Carolina AIAW Champions. In 1977, with Pam Parsons as the head coach the women's basketball team, they changed their nickname to the Lady Gamecocks and made post-season trips every year with her at the helm.

During its eight seasons in the Metro Conference, the Lady Gamecocks won the regular season championship five times and the conference tournament three times.^[2]

When South Carolina joined the SEC, success was hard to come by during the first decade. The program struggled to compete in the premier Women's Basketball League under head coaches Wilson and Susan Walvius. Walvius' teams in 2001–02 and 2002–03 broke through to finish 25–7 and 23–8, respectively, earning trips to the NCAA tournament and reaching the Elite Eight in 2002.

Walvius resigned after the 2007–08 season and Dawn Staley was named the new head coach of the team now known as simply, "Gamecocks" on May 7, 2008.

Under Coach Staley, the Gamecocks have improved or equaled their win total every year. They finished with a record of 10–18 in 2008–09 and with continued progress each season, they won the SEC Regular Season Championship, the SEC Tournament Championship and the NCAA East Region Championship in 2014–15 with a 34–3 record. The season ended in the NCAA Final Four with a last second one-point loss to Notre Dame in the national semi-finals.

Head coaches


Name	Years	Seasons	Games	Won	Lost	Pct.
Pam Backhaus	1974–1975 1976–1977	3	78	41	37	.526
Frankie Porter	1975–1976	1	22	7	15	.318
Pam Parsons	1977–1981	5	144	101	43	.701
Terry Kelly	1982–1984	3	82	50	32	.610
Nancy Wilson	1984–1997	13	380	231	149	.608
Susan Walvius	1997–2008	11	325	165	160	.508
Dawn Staley	2008–present	8	264	188	76	.712
All-Time		42	1295	783	512	.604

2015–16 Roster

2015–16 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Home town
1.5 !G	0	Colley, ShayShay Colley	68 !5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	1.0 !Fr	St. Edmund Campion Secondary	Brampton, ON
1.5 !G	1	Cuevas, BiancaBianca Cuevas	66 !5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	2.0 !So	Nazareth Regional	Bronx, NY
1.5 !G	3	Duckett, KaydraKaydra Duckett	68 !5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	2.0 !So	Dreher	Columbia, SC
1.5 !G	4	Cliney, DoniyahDoniyah Cliney	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	1.5 !RS Fr	Malcolm X Shabazz	Newark, NJ
1.5 !G	5	Sessions, KhadijahKhadijah Sessions	68 !5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	4.0 !Sr	North Myrtle Beach	North Myrtle Beach, SC
1.5 !G	10	Gray, AllishaAllisha Gray (I)	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	3.0 !Jr	Washington County North Carolina	Sandersville, GA
1.5 !G	15	Davis, TiffanyTiffany Davis	67 !5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	2.5 !RS So	Westbury Christian	Houston, TX
3.5 !F	22	Wilson, A'jaA'ja Wilson	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	2.0 !So	Heathwood Hall	Hopkins, SC
1.5 !G	23	Roy, TinaTina Roy	71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	4.5 !RS Sr	Kaplan	Kaplan, LA
5.0 !C	24	Imovbioh, SarahSarah Imovbioh	74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	4.5 !RS Sr	St. Anne's-Belfield Virginia	Abuja, Nigeria
1.5 !G	25	Mitchell, TiffanyTiffany Mitchell	69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	4.0 !Sr	Providence Day	Charlotte, NC
2.5 !G/F	31	Dozier, AsiaAsia Dozier	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	4.0 !Sr	Spring Valley	Columbia, SC
1.5 !G	35	Davis, KaelaKaela Davis (I)	74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	3.0 !Jr	Buford Georgia Tech	Suwanee, GA
3.5 !F	40	White, JatarieJatarie White	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	2.0 !So	Providence Day	Charlotte, NC
5.0 !C	41	Coates, AlainaAlaina Coates	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	3.0 !Jr	Dutch Fork	Irmo, SC
1.5 !G	44	Farmer, IndiaIndia Farmer	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	3.0 !Jr	North Myrtle Beach	North Myrtle Beach, SC

Head coach

Dawn Staley

Assistant coach(es)

Lisa Boyer
Nikki McCray
Fred Chmiel

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Year-by-year results

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source^[3]

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason	Coaches' poll	AP poll
Pam Backhaus (Independent) (1974–1975)
1974–75	Pam Backhaus	18–12	–		AIAW Region II
Frankie Porter (Independent) (1975–1976)
1975–76	Frankie Porter	7–15	–
Frankie Porter:		7–15	–
Pam Backhaus (Independent) (1976–1977)
1976–77	Pam Backhaus	8–18	–		SCAIAW
Pam Backhaus:		26–30	–
Pam Parsons (Independent) (1977–1982)
1977–78	Pam Parsons	24–10	–		AIAW Region II
1978–79	Pam Parsons	27–10	–		AIAW Region II, NWIT Champions		15
1979–80	Pam Parsons	30–6	–		AIAW Third Place		4
1980–81	Pam Parsons	21–11	–		AIAW Region II
1981	Pam Parsons	7–0	–
Pam Parsons:		109–37	–
Terry Kelly (Independent, Metro) (1982–1985)
1982	Terry Kelly	16–8	–		NCAA Sixteen
1982–83	Terry Kelly	16–12	–
1983–84	Terry Kelly	18–12	7–3
Terry Kelly:		50–32	7–3
Nancy Wilson (Metro, SEC) (1984–1997)
1984–85	Nancy Wilson	18–10	8–3
1985–86	Nancy Wilson	19–11	9–1	1st	NCAA First Round
1986–87	Nancy Wilson	18–12	8–4
1987–88	Nancy Wilson	23–11	10–2	1st	NCAA Second Round (Play-In)	24
1988–89	Nancy Wilson	23–7	10–2	1st	NCAA First Round	22	17
1989–90	Nancy Wilson	24–9	13–1		NCAA Sweet Sixteen	16	19
1990–91	Nancy Wilson	22–9	12–2		NCAA First Round
1991–92	Nancy Wilson	13–15	2–9	12th (SEC)
1992–93	Nancy Wilson	17–10	5–6	T-6th
1993–94	Nancy Wilson	14–13	2–9	T-10th
1994–95	Nancy Wilson	12–15	1–10	T-10th
1995–96	Nancy Wilson	16–12	2–9	T-11th
1996–97	Nancy Wilson	12–15	1–11	T-11th
Nancy Wilson:		231–149	83–69
Susan Walvius (SEC) (1997–2008)
1997–98	Susan Walvius	13–15	3–11	T-11th
1998–99	Susan Walvius	11–16	0–14	12th
1999–2000	Susan Walvius	13–15	3–11	11th
2000–01	Susan Walvius	11–17	6–8	T-6th
2001–02	Susan Walvius	25–7	10–4	T-2nd	NCAA Elite Eight	6	13
2002–03	Susan Walvius	23–8	9–5	T-5th	NCAA Second Round	18	16
2003–04	Susan Walvius	10–18	1–13	12th
2004–05	Susan Walvius	8–21	2–12	12th
2005–06	Susan Walvius	17–12	7–7	7th	WNIT First Round (Bye)
2006–07	Susan Walvius	18–15	6–8	T-7th	WNIT Sixteen
2007–08	Susan Walvius	16–16	4–10	T-9th	WNIT First Round (Play-In)
Susan Walvius:		165–160	51–103
Dawn Staley (SEC) (2008–present)
2008–09	Dawn Staley	10–18	2–12	11th
2009–10	Dawn Staley	14–15	7–9	T-7th
2010–11	Dawn Staley	18–15	8–8	T-5th	WNIT Second Round
2011–12	Dawn Staley	25–10	10–6	T-4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	21	25
2012–13	Dawn Staley	25–8	11–5	T-4th	NCAA Second Round	14	17
2013–14	Dawn Staley	29–5	14–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	8	9
2014–15	Dawn Staley	34–3	15–1	1st	NCAA Final Four	3	4
2015–16	Dawn Staley	33–2	16–0	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	3	5
Dawn Staley:		188–76	83–43
Total:		783–512
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Notable players

Gamecocks in the WNBA

Shannon Johnson – (1999 – 2009) Last with the Seattle Storm
Shaunzinski Gortman – (2002–2006) Last with the Seattle Storm
Jocelyn Penn – (2003–2004) Last with the San Antonio Stars

Retired jerseys

Retired jerseys^[4]
No.	Player	Years
53	Sheila Foster	1978–1982
13	Martha Parker	1985–1989

Attendance

Over the years, the Gamecocks have played in three different venues. At first games were played at the Blatt P.E. Center. Later games moved to the Carolina Coliseum, which saw the first sell out for a women's basketball game on January 17, 2002. That day, 12,168 fans turned out to see the South Carolina Gamecocks take on the Tennessee Lady Vols.

On November 22, 2002, the Lady Gamecocks opened the newly constructed Colonial Center (later renamed the Colonial Life Arena). A near sell out crowd of 17,712 saw the Lady Gamecocks defeat the Clemson Lady Tigers. The first sell out with 18,000 in attendance occurred on February 8, 2016 against the University of Connecticut Huskies in a match up of the two top ranked teams in the country.

Top 10 crowds at Colonial Life Arena for Women's Basketball games:


Date	Attendance	Opponent	Result
02-08-2016	18,000	Connecticut	L 66–54
11-22-2002	17,712	Clemson	W 72–58
01-11-2015	17,156	Kentucky	W 68–60
11-13-2015	16,815	Ohio State	W 88–80
01-02-2015	16,465	Auburn	W 77–58
12-06-2015	16,429	Duke	W 66–55
02-28-2016	16,240	LSU	W 75–39
02-18-2016	16,186	Georgia	W 61–51
01-10-2016	15,934	Missouri	W 83–58
01-17-2016	15,406	Texas A&M	W 59–58

Starting with the 2013–14 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks became one of the national leaders in attendance for Women's Basketball. In 2014–15, the Gamecocks led the nation in attendance with 12,540 fans per game. They followed this up with an average attendance of 14,364 in 2015–16, a season where every home game had at least 10,000 fans in attendance.

Year	Games	Overall W–L	Overall Win Pct	NCAA W–L	NCAA Win Pct	Total Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank)	Avg Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank)
2013–14	16	16–0	1.000	0–0		101,935 (3rd/13th)	6,371 (3rd/10th)
2014–15	16	16–0	1.000	2–0	1.000	196,684 (1st/1st)	12,293 (1st/1st)
2015–16	17	16–1	0.941	2–0	1.000	244,196 (1st/1st)	14,364 (1st/1st)
Totals	49	48–1	0.980	4–0	1.000	542,815	11,078

Between losses to Texas A&M on February 10, 2013 and Connecticut on February 8th 2016, the Gamecocks won 45 consecutive games at home.

Player awards

National awards

Coach of the Year

Dawn Staley – 2014 – Basketball Times

Dawn Staley Award

Tiffany Mitchell – 2015

SEC Awards

Coach of the Year

Susan Walvius – 2002

Dawn Staley – 2014, 2015*

Player of the Year

Tiffany Mitchell – 2014, 2015

A'ja Wilson – 2016

Defensive Player of the Year

Ieasia Walker – 2013

A'ja Wilson – 2016

Freshman of the Year

Kelsey Bone – 2010

Alaina Coates – 2014

A'ja Wilson – 2015

6th Player of the Year

Alaina Coates – 2014*

SEC Tournament MVP

Aleighsa Welch – 2015

Tiffany Mitchell – 2016

WBB Scholar Athlete of the Year

Aleighsa Welch – 2015

Denotes Co-Player / Co-Coach

Metro awards

Coach of the Year

Nancy Wilson – 1985, 1991

Player of the Year

Brantley Southers – 1986

Martha Parker – 1988, 1989

Beth Hunt – 1990

Newcomer of the Year

Martha Parker – 1986

Schonna Banner – 1987

Tournament MVP

Brantley Southers – 1986

Martha Parker – 1988

Beth Hunt – 1989

References

↑ "University of South Carolina". Retrieved 2014-08-14.
↑ "South Carolina Women's Basketball History".
↑ "History" (PDF). University of South Carolina. Retrieved 10 Aug 2013.
↑ "Carolina History".

External links

Official website

South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball

Venues	Carolina Coliseum (1974–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)

Rivalries	Clemson

Culture & lore	History Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Garnet Army

People	Head coaches Retired jerseys

Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

University of South Carolina

Academics

Athletics

Teams	South Carolina Gamecocks

Men's sports	Baseball Basketball Football Golf Soccer Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field

Women's sports	Basketball Cross Country Equestrian Golf Sand Volleyball Soccer Swimming & Diving Softball Tennis Track & Field Volleyball

Facilities	Williams-Brice Stadium Colonial Life Arena Founders Park Stone Stadium

Campus

Student life

Miscellaneous

Southeastern Conference women's basketball

Teams	Alabama Crimson Tide Arkansas Razorbacks Auburn Tigers Florida Gators Georgia Lady Bulldogs Kentucky Wildcats LSU Lady Tigers Ole Miss Rebels Mississippi State Bulldogs Missouri Tigers South Carolina Gamecocks Tennessee Lady Volunteers Texas A&M Aggies Vanderbilt Commodores

Championships & awards	SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Player of the Year

Seasons	1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

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