# 2018–19 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

The 2018–19 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by eleventh year head coach Dawn Staley, played their home games at the Colonial Life Arena and were members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 23–10, 13–3 in SEC play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC women's tournament to Arkansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Belmont and Florida State in the first and second rounds before losing to Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen.

## Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2017–18 season 29–7, 12–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi State to win the SEC women's tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament. They defeated North Carolina A&T and Virginia in the first and second rounds, Buffalo in the sweet sixteen before losing to Connecticut in the elite eight.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| A'ja Wilson | 22 | F | 6'5" | Senior | Hopkins, SC | Graduated/Declared to 2018 WNBA draft #1 Overall pick |
| Lindsey Spann | 11 | G | 5'6" | RS Senior | Laurel, MD | Graduated |

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Destanni Henderson #1 PG | Lehigh Acres, FL | Fort Myers | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Victaria Saxton #6 F | Rome, GA | Model | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Elysa Wesolek F | Charleston, SC | Northwood Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/02/2018* 7:00 pm | No. 10 | Lander | W 100–62 | – | 20 – Cooper | 10 – Saxton | 6 – Henderson | Colonial Life Arena (302) Columbia, SC |
| Regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2018* 4:00 pm | No. 10 | at Alabama State | W 94–38 | 1-0 | 17 – Cooper | 6 – Herbert Harrigan | 5 – Harris | Dunn–Oliver Acadome (3,128) Montgomery, AL |
| 11/15/2018* 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 10 | Clemson Rivalry | W 69–57 | 2–0 | 15 – Cooper | 7 – Saxton | 6 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (11,539) Columbia, SC |
| 11/18/2018* 5:30 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | No. 9 Maryland | L 61–85 | 2–1 | 14 – Herbert Harrigan | 6 – Grissett | 3 – Cooper | Colonial Life Arena (11,240) Columbia, SC |
| 11/22/2018* 9:00 pm | No. 13 | vs. East Tennessee State Vancouver Showcase Quarterfinals | W 101–55 | 3–1 | 14 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 5 – Harris | Vancouver Convention Centre (284) Vancouver, BC |
| 11/23/2018* 11:30 pm | No. 13 | vs. No. 9 Oregon State Vancouver Showcase Semifinals | L 68–70 | 3–2 | 22 – Cooper | 14 – Jennings | 4 – Cooper | Vancouver Convention Centre (1,156) Vancouver, BC |
| 11/24/2018* 10:30 pm | No. 13 | vs. Drake Vancouver Showcase 3rd place game | L 85–90 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | 31 – Cooper | 7 – Cliney | 4 – Jackson | Vancouver Convention Centre Vancouver, BC |
| 11/28/2018* 7:00 pm | No. 18 | Dayton | W 65–55 | 4–3 | 24 – Harris | 9 – Grissett | 1 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (10,423) Columbia, SC |
| 12/02/2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | No. 4 Baylor Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge | L 69–94 | 4–4 | 16 – Cooper | 10 – Grissett | 4 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (10,531) Columbia, SC |
| 12/05/2018* 7:00 pm | No. 22 | Appalachian State | W 80–50 | 5–4 | 12 – Cuevas-Moore | 8 – Williams | 7 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (10,380) Columbia, SC |
| 12/09/2018* 2:00 pm | No. 22 | at Duke Postponed; inclement weather | | | | | | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| 12/16/2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | at Purdue | W 82–73 $^{2OT}$ | 6–4 | 19 – Tied | 15 – Herbert Harrigan | 7 – Harris | Mackey Arena (10,086) West Lafayette, IN |
| 12/21/2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 25 | Temple | W 88–60 | 7–4 | 16 – Cooper | 8 – Grissett | 6 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (11,297) Columbia, SC |
| 12/30/2018* 2:00 pm | No. 25 | Furman | W 66–53 | 8–4 | 19 – Jennings | 5 – Grissett | 4 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (11,206) Columbia, SC |
| 01/03/2019 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 23 | at No. 21 Texas A&M | W 60–57 | 9–4 (1–0) | 24 – Cooper | 16 – Herbert Harrigan | 6 – Cooper | Reed Arena (4,010) College Station, TX |
| 01/06/2019 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 23 | Alabama | W 62–59 | 10–4 (2–0) | 18 – Herbert Harrigan | 9 – Herbert Harrigan | 4 – Cooper | Colonial Life Arena (11,392) Columbia, SC |
| 01/10/2019 7:00 pm | No. 21 | Florida | W 71–40 | 11–4 (3–0) | 16 – Cuevas-Moore | 9 – Grissett | 8 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (10,353) Columbia, SC |
| 01/13/2019 5:00 pm, SECN | No. 21 | at LSU | W 76–53 | 12–4 (4–0) | 14 – Cooper | 9 – Grissett | 5 – Harris | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,997) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/17/2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 15 | at No. 7 Mississippi State | L 74–89 | 12–5 (4–1) | 27 – Cooper | 5 – Cooper | 6 – Cooper | Humphrey Coliseum (10,006) Starkville, MS |
| 01/21/2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | No. 25 Missouri | W 79–65 | 13–5 (5–1) | 16 – Tied | 17 – Herbert Harrigan | 5 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (12,004) Columbia, SC |
| 01/28/2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 16 | Vanderbilt | W 80–69 | 14–5 (6–1) | 18 – Cooper | 8 – Saxton | 6 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (11,166) Columbia, SC |
| 01/31/2019 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 16 | at No. 19 Kentucky | W 74–70 | 15–5 (7–1) | 18 – Jennings | 12 – Jennings | 5 – Harris | Memorial Coliseum (4,247) Lexington, KY |
| 02/03/2019 5:00 pm, SECN | No. 16 | at Arkansas | W 87–79 | 16–5 (8–1) | 19 – Tied | 12 – Jennings | 5 – Harris | Bud Walton Arena (1,637) Fayetteville, AR |
| 02/07/2019 7:00 pm | No. 12 | Ole Miss | W 76–42 | 17–5 (9–1) | 13 – Perry | 6 – Grissett | 9 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (10,662) Columbia, SC |
| 02/11/2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | at No. 4 Connecticut | L 79–97 | 17–6 | 25 – Cuevas-Moore | 4 – Jennings | 5 – Harris | XL Center (11,740) Hartford, CT |
| 02/14/2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 11 | Georgia | W 65–57 | 18–6 (10–1) | 14 – Henderson | 7 – Herbert Harrigan | 4 – Henderson | Colonial Life Arena (11,044) Columbia, SC |
| 02/17/2019 2:00 pm | No. 11 | at Florida | W 96–77 | 19–6 (11–1) | 22 – Jennings | 5 – Tied | 10 – Harris | O'Connell Center (3,213) Gainesville, FL |
| 02/21/2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 13 | No. 16 Kentucky | L 57–65 | 19–7 (11–2) | 12 – Tied | 2 – Jennings | 7 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (11,887) Columbia, SC |
| 02/24/2019 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | at Tennessee | W 82–67 | 20–7 (12–2) | 28 – Cuevas-Moore | 7 – Tied | 14 – Harris | Thompson–Boling Arena (9,448) Knoxville, TN |
| 02/28/2019 7:00 pm | No. 14 | at Auburn | W 73–66 | 21–7 (13–2) | 18 – Herbert Harrigan | 10 – Jennings | 10 – Harris | Auburn Arena (1,912) Auburn, AL |
| 03/03/2019 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | No. 5 Mississippi State | L 64–68 | 21–8 (13–3) | 20 – Harris | 11 – Herbert Harrigan | 3 – Harris | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| SEC Women's Tournament |||||||||
| 03/08/2019 6:00 pm, SECN | (2) No. 12 | vs. (10) Arkansas Quarterfinals | L 89–95 | 21–9 | 27 – Herbert Harrigan | 9 – Cliney | 6 – Harris | Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC |
| NCAA Women's Tournament |||||||||
| 03/22/2019* 1:45 pm, ESPN2 | (4 G) No. 15 | (13 G) Belmont First Round | W 74–52 | 22–9 | 15 – Cooper | 9 – Jennings | 6 – Harris | Dale F. Halton Arena† Charlotte, NC |
| 03/24/2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 G) No. 15 | (5 G) No. 25 Florida State Second Round | W 72–64 | 23–9 | 20 – Herbert Harrigan | 7 – Jennings | 4 – Tied | Dale F. Halton Arena† (2,030) Charlotte, NC |
| 03/30/2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN | (4 G) No. 15 | vs. (1 G) No. 1 Baylor Sweet Sixteen | L 68–93 | 23–10 | 17 – Cooper | 5 – Herbert Harrigan | 6 – Harris | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. G=Greensboro Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
†Colonial Life Arena was being used for the First and Second Rounds of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, so South Carolina hosted their games at Dale F. Halton Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 10 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 16 | Not released |
| Coaches | 11 | 11^ | 12 | 19 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15-T | 13 | 18 | 13 |
^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.