# 2016–17 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

The 2016–17 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by ninth-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 33–4, 11–2 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season and tournament championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament. They defeated UNC Ashville and Arizona State in the first and second rounds, Quinnipiac in the sweet sixteen and Florida State in the elite eight to advance to their second final four in school history. In the national semifinal in Dallas they defeated Stanford and beat SEC rival Mississippi State in the final to win their first NCAA National Championship. A'ja Wilson was named the Most Outstanding Player in the National Championship Game.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2016* 1:30 pm | No. 4 | Benedict | W 120–49 | | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2016* 6:00 pm | No. 4 | at No. 7 Ohio State | W 92–80 | 1–0 | Value City Arena (6,683) Columbus, OH |
| 11/20/2016* 3:00 pm | No. 4 | Hampton Hall of Fame Women's Challenge | W 92–38 | 2–0 | Colonial Life Arena (11,795) Columbia, SC |
| 11/21/2016* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Maine Hall of Fame Women's Challenge | W 79–42 | 3–0 | Colonial Life Arena (11,057) Columbia, SC |
| 11/22/2016* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Saint Peter's Hall of Fame Women's Challenge | W 93–38 | 4–0 | Colonial Life Arena (11,455) Columbia, SC |
| 11/27/2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | vs. No. 4 Louisville Hall of Fame Women's Challenge | W 83–59 | 5–0 | MassMutual Center Springfield, MA |
| 12/01/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | at No. 14 Texas Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge | W 76–67 | 6–0 | Frank Erwin Center (3,330) Austin, TX |
| 12/04/2016* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 3 | at Duke | L 63–74 | 6–1 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (6,036) Durham, NC |
| 12/11/2016* 3:00 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Minnesota | W 98–58 | 7–1 | Colonial Life Arena (12,461) Columbia, SC |
| 12/15/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Clemson Rivalry | W 83–61 | 8–1 | Colonial Life Arena (11,916) Columbia, SC |
| 12/18/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | No. 9 UCLA | W 66–57 | 9–1 | Colonial Life Arena (13,367) Columbia, SC |
| 12/21/2016* 6:00 pm | No. 6 | at Savannah State | W 70–30 | 10–1 | Tiger Arena (1,411) Savannah, GA |
| 01/01/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | Alabama | W 93–45 | 11–1 (1–0) | Colonial Life Arena (12,069) Columbia, SC |
| 01/05/2017 7:00 pm | No. 5 | at Auburn | W 73–47 | 12–1 (2–0) | Auburn Arena (2,144) Auburn, AL |
| 01/08/2017 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 5 | at Florida | W 81–62 | 13–1 (3–0) | O'Connell Center (2,232) Gainesville, FL |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | Georgia | W 66–63 | 14–1 (4–0) | Colonial Life Arena (12,043) Columbia, SC |
| 01/15/2017 3:00 pm | No. 5 | at LSU | W 84–61 | 15–1 (5–0) | Maravich Center (2,840) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/19/2017 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | Ole Miss | W 65–46 | 16–1 (6–0) | Colonial Life Arena (12,518) Columbia, SC |
| 01/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | No. 4 Mississippi State | W 64–61 | 17–1 (7–0) | Colonial Life Arena (13,120) Columbia, SC |
| 01/26/2017 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | Georgia | W 62–44 | 18–1 (8–0) | Stegeman Coliseum (3,540) Athens, GA |
| 01/30/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | Tennessee | L 74–76 | 18–2 (8–1) | Colonial Life Arena (13,690) Columbia, SC |
| 02/02/2017 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 4 | at No. 25 Kentucky | W 75–63 | 19–2 (9–1) | Memorial Coliseum (5,533) Lexington, KY |
| 02/05/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | at Arkansas | W 79–49 | 20–2 (10–1) | Bud Walton Arena (1,650) Fayetteville, AR |
| 02/09/2017 7:00 pm | No. 6 | Auburn | W 60–41 | 21–2 (11–1) | Colonial Life Arena (13,360) Columbia, SC |
| 02/13/2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | at No. 1 Connecticut | L 55–66 | 21–3 | Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| 02/16/2017 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Vanderbilt | W 82–51 | 22–3 (12–1) | Colonial Life Arena (13,089) Columbia, SC |
| 02/19/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | at Missouri | L 60–62 | 22–4 (12–2) | Mizzou Arena (5,789) Columbia, MO |
| 02/23/2017 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | at Texas A&M | W 80–64 | 23–4 (13–2) | Reed Arena (6,402) College Station, TX |
| 02/26/2017 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | No. 22 Kentucky | W 95–87 | 24–4 (14–2) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| SEC women's tournament ||||||
| 03/03/2017 12:00 pm, SECN | (1) No. 5 | vs. (8) Georgia Quarterfinals | W 72–48 | 25–4 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC |
| 03/04/2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU | (1) No. 5 | vs. (4) No. 20 Kentucky Semifinals | W 89–77 | 26–4 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (7,554) Greenville, SC |
| 03/05/2017 2:30 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 5 | vs. (2) No. 6 Mississippi State Championship Game | W 59–49 | 27–4 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (7,715) Greenville, SC |
| NCAA women's tournament ||||||
| 03/17/2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1 S) No. 3 | (16 S) UNC Asheville First Round | W 90–40 | 28–4 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC |
| 03/19/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (1 S) No. 3 | (8 S) Arizona State Second Round | W 71–68 | 29–4 | Colonial Life Arena (8,276) Columbia, SC |
| 03/25/2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN | (1 S) No. 3 | vs. (12 S) Quinnipiac Sweet Sixteen | W 100–58 | 30–4 | Stockton Arena Stockton, CA |
| 03/27/2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN | (1 S) No. 3 | vs. (3 S) No. 10 Florida State Elite Eight | W 71–64 | 31–4 | Stockton Arena (3,134) Stockton, CA |
| 03/31/2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | (1 S) No. 3 | vs. (2 L) No. 6 Stanford Final Four | W 62–53 | 32–4 | American Airlines Center Dallas, TX |
| 04/02/2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN | (1 S) No. 3 | vs. (2 O) No. 7 Mississippi State Championship Game | W 67–55 | 33–4 | American Airlines Center (19,229) Dallas, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=Stockton Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | N/A |
| Coaches | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 |

## Team players drafted into the WNBA

| Round | Pick | Player | WNBA Club |
| 1 | 2 | Alaina Coates | Chicago Sky |
| 1 | 4 | Allisha Gray | Dallas Wings |
| 1 | 10 | Kaela Davis | Dallas Wings |