The schedule is set! Defending champ South Carolina learns 2022-23 path
South Carolina released its 2022-23 season in full on Friday.
The team will play 29 regular-season games, 15 of which are at home.
The defending champions open the regular season at home Nov. 7 against a to-be-determined opponent after the planned game against BYU was canceled.
From there, the Gamecocks will visit Maryland in College Park on Nov. 11 to kickoff a four-game road trip. Maryland played against USC last year with forward Angel Reese, who has since transferred to LSU.
The other teams on that road trip include rival-Clemson, last year’s No. 2 Stanford Cardinal as well as Cal Poly, giving the team two straight games in California.
Last season, South Carolina hosted Stanford, Maryland and Clemson.
Dawn Staley’s squad then returns home for four consecutive games before a quick trip to South Dakota to face South Dakota State. Three home games later, the team opens conference play against Texas A&M.
South Carolina has a rematch against the perennial power UConn Huskies, a team the Gamecocks defeated in last year’s regular season (in a neutral-site tournament) and the national championship game. The two teams were supposed to meet an additional time last year, but the game was canceled to reschedule an SEC game.
In total, USC will play four non-conference opponents that were ranked at the end of last year, and three more in the SEC — LSU, Kentucky and Tennessee.
On paper, the team’s game against the Cardinal presents its challenges. It would be the third of a four-game road trip against the former No. 2 team in the nation. Stanford led South Carolina by double-figures at halftime last season at Colonial Life Arena, but USC came back in the second half to win by four.
Game times and TV networks will be released at a later date.
Off the heels of a national championship win, South Carolina returns key seniors Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke, who were two of the Gamecocks’ top three scorers from last year. USC also brings back Laeticia Amihere, Victoria Saxton and Kamilla Cardoso for frontcourt depth. Brea Beal returns as a starting guard and major defensive piece for the Gamecocks.
The team lost its Final Four Most Outstanding Player and second leading scorer — Destanni Henderson — to the WNBA.
The Gamecocks won the SEC regular season a year ago, finishing with a 15-1 regular season record in conference play. South Carolina’s lone losses in 2021-22 came on the road against Missouri and in the SEC tournament championship against Kentucky.
The team announced its 16-game conference schedule last week. Friday’s announcement completed the slate.
SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2022-23 SCHEDULE
- Oct. 31: home vs. Benedict (exhibition)
- Nov. 7: home vs. TBD
- Nov. 11: at Maryland
- Nov. 17: at Clemson
- Nov. 20: at Stanford
- Nov. 22: at Cal Poly
- Nov. 27: home vs. Hampton
- Nov. 29: home vs. UCLA
- Dec. 3: home vs. Memphis
- Dec. 11: home vs. Liberty
- Dec. 15: at South Dakota State (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
- Dec. 18: home vs. Charleston Southern
- Dec 21: home vs. Coastal Carolina
- Dec. 29: home vs. Texas A&M
- Jan. 2: at Georgia
- Jan. 5: home vs. Auburn
- Jan. 8: at Mississippi State
- Jan. 12: at Kentucky
- Jan. 15: home vs. Missouri
- Jan. 19: at Vanderbilt
- Jan. 22: home vs. Arkansas
- Jan. 29: at Alabama
- Feb. 2: home vs. Kentucky
- Feb. 5: at UConn
- Feb. 9: at Auburn
- Feb. 12: home vs. LSU
- Feb. 16: home vs. Florida
- Feb. 19: at Ole Miss
- Feb. 23: at Tennessee
- Feb. 26: home vs. Georgia
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 8:12 AM with the headline "The schedule is set! Defending champ South Carolina learns 2022-23 path."
