The 2021–22 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

during the

2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 9, 2021. The regular season ended on March 6, 2022, with the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 18, and ending with the championship ga ...

. The Gamecocks were led by 14th-year head coach

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers an ...

and played their home games at

Colonial Life Arena The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, primarily home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Cente ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. They competed as members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). They finished the season 35–2, 15–1 in SEC play, to win the regular season championship. They defeated Arkansas and Ole Miss to advance to the championship of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

region. They defeated Howard, Miami, North Carolina, Creighton and Louisville to advance to the championship game. There they defeated

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

for the team's second-ever national title.

Aliyah Boston Aliyah Boston (born December 11, 2001) is an American professional basketball Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), center for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was named 20 ...

won Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while head coach Dawn Staley was named Naismith Coach of the Year. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in both polls for the entire year, and finished ranked No. 1 in the AP, Coaches, NET, RPI, ELO, SOS and Massey rankings.

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the season with a 26–5 overall record and a 14–2 record in conference play. The Gamecocks won the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks therefore received an automatic bid to the

2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Divi ...

, where they reached the Final Four, losing to Stanford 66–65.

Offseason

2021 recruiting class

The Gamecocks signed the #1 class for 2021 according to ESPN. their second #1 class in three years.

Incoming transfers

Preseason

Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley entered her fourteenth year at South Carolina, fresh off winning an Olympic gold medal in the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, winning all six games as head coach of

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. South Carolina was named AP preseason #1 for the second straight season, as they return every player from the previous year's Final Four team, added the #1 recruiting class, adding four 5-star recruits, three of which were ranked in the top 5. They also added ACC Freshman of the Year and former 5-star recruit 6'8" Kamillia Cardoso.

Award watchlists

Preseason All-American teams

First team

– C

SEC coaches poll

The SEC coaches selected the Gamecocks to finish in first place in the SEC.

SEC media poll

Preseason All-SEC teams

First team Aliyah Boston – C

Zia Cooke Zia Cooke (born January 9, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball, South Caroli ...

– SG Second team Destanni Henderson – PG

Roster

Starting lineup

Schedule

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Statistics

Team total per game

Team average per game

Individual total per game

Individual average per game

Rankings

Awards and honors

* Aliyah Boston ** Naismith Player of the Year ** United States Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year **

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...

** Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's Player of the Year ** Associated Press Player of the Year **

Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Awards established in 2018 College basketball trophies and awards in the United States 2018 establishments in the United States ...

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

Lisa Leslie Award The Lisa Leslie Award is an award presented annually to the best women's basketball center (basketball), center in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after Hall of Famer Lisa Le ...

** Academic All-American of the Year **

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

first-team All-American **

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBC ...

All-American ** SEC Player of the Year ** First-team All-SEC ** SEC Defensive Player of the Year ** SEC All-Defensive Team * Destanni Henderson **

third-team All-American ** First-team All-SEC * Zia Cooke ** Second-team All-SEC * Dawn Staley **

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

WBCA National Coach of the Year Award The United States Marine Corps/WBCA National Coach of the Year is an award given by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to best women's basketball Head Coaches in college and high schools since 1983. From 2014, the award is named "The Pat ...

** USBWA Women's National Coach of the Year ** SEC Coach of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball seasons

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

South Carolina Gamecocks w South Carolina Gamecocks w

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship seasons