# 2009–10 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

The 2009–10 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks were coached by Dawn Staley, in her second year, and played their home games at Colonial Life Arena. They competed as members of the Southeastern Conference.
Gamecock freshman and future WNBA player Kelsey Bone became the first South Carolina player to be named SEC Newcomer of the Year, before then transferring to Texas A&M.
South Carolina finished the season with a final record of 14–15. They lost to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. This remains South Carolina's last season with a losing record.

## Offseason

* May 4: It was announced that the Gamecocks would participate in the 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands. The event was celebrating its tenth anniversary. Games were played at the U.V.I. Sports and Fitness Center, a basketball facility located in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
* May 15: The South Carolina women's basketball 2009 recruiting class was ranked the fourth-best in the nation by All-Star Girls Report. The Gamecocks added four players for the 2009–10 season, including Kelsey Bone and Ieasia Walker who were named ESPNrise.com All-Americans this week. Only Baylor, North Carolina and California signed better classes than the Gamecocks, according to the organization's rankings.
* May 16: Gamecocks basketball coach Dawn Staley returned to her alma mater, the University of Virginia, to give the valedictory address.
* May 17: Gamecocks signee Kelsey Bone was named one of 14 finalists for the 2009 USA Women's U19 World Championship Team.
* May 22: Dawn Staley announced that Ebony Wilson (Newark, N.J./Rend Lake College/Malcolm X Shabazz) signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of South Carolina and play basketball for the Gamecocks, with three years of eligibility beginning with the 2009–10 academic year.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season |||||
| November 16, 2009* | at Charlotte | W 70–66 | 1–0 | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| November 19, 2009* | at Clemson Rivalry | L 92–94 | 1–1 | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| November 22, 2009* | Penn State | W 63–56 | 2–1 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| November 26, 2009* | No. 20 Oklahoma 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam | L 67–75 | 2–2 | Sports and Fitness Center Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| November 27, 2009* | No. 5 Notre Dame 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam | L 55–78 | 2–3 | Sports and Fitness Center Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| November 28, 2009* | No. 23 San Diego 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam | W 58–55 | 3–3 | Sports and Fitness Center Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| December 2, 2009* | High Point | W 70–52 | 4–3 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| December 13, 2009* | NC State | W 74–71 | 5–3 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| December 17, 2009* | Wake Forest | W 62–52 | 6–3 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| December 20, 2009* | No. 9 North Carolina Carolinas Challenge | L 85–93 | 6–4 | Myrtle Beach Convention Center Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| December 28, 2009* | Boston University Saint Joseph’s Tournament | L 67–68 | 6–5 | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| December 29, 2009* | Brown Saint Joseph’s Tournament | W 73–46 | 7–5 | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| January 3, 2010 | No. 11 Louisiana State | L 58–70 | 7–6 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| January 7, 2010 | at No. 4 Tennessee | L 62–79 | 7–7 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 10, 2010 | at Alabama | W 80–68 | 8–7 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 14, 2010 | Kentucky | W 79–71 | 9–7 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| January 17, 2010 | Auburn | W 63–49 | 10–7 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| January 21, 2010 | at No. 18 Louisiana State | L 52–69 | 10–8 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| January 24, 2010 | at Florida | L 56–59 | 10–9 | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| January 28, 2010 | Ole Miss | W 64–50 | 11–9 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| January 31, 2010 | No. 5 Tennessee | L 55–60 | 11–10 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| February 4, 2010 | at Auburn | W 61–58 | 12–10 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 7, 2010 | at No. 14 Georgia | W 52–42 | 13–10 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| February 11, 2010 | Mississippi State | L 53–55 | 13–11 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| February 14, 2010 | Arkansas | L 68–72 | 13–12 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| February 21, 2010 | at No. 16 Kentucky | L 50–71 | 13–13 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 25, 2010 | No. 24 Georgia | L 49–65 | 13–14 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, South Carolina |
| February 28, 2010 | at Vanderbilt | W 73–70 | 14–14 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| SEC Tournament |||||
| March 4, 2010 | Ole Miss | L 63–64 | 14–15 | The Arena at Gwinnett Center Duluth, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||

## Roster

From the 2008–09 roster, 57.3% of minutes played and 50.8% of scoring returned.
| Number | Name | Height | Position | Class |
| 1 | Ebony Wilson | 5'8" | Guard | Sophomore |
| 3 | Lauren Falohun | 5'9" | Guard | Junior |
| 4 | Samone Kennedy | 5'4" | Guard | Junior |
| 5 | Kelsey Bone | 6'5" | Center | Freshman |

## Player stats

| Player | Games Played | Minutes | Field Goals | Three Pointers | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |