2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
Paradise Jam Champions ; SEC tournament champions ; SEC regular season champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	32–1 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach	Dawn Staley (12th season);
Assistant coaches	Lisa Boyer; Fred Chmiel; Jolette Law;
Home arena	Colonial Life Arena
	Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 SEC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 South Carolina †	16	–	0	1.000	32	–	1	.970
No. 9 Mississippi State	13	–	3	.813	27	–	6	.818
No. 24 Arkansas	10	–	6	.625	24	–	8	.750
No. 16 Kentucky	10	–	6	.625	22	–	8	.733
No. 19 Texas A&M	10	–	6	.625	22	–	8	.733
Tennessee	10	–	6	.625	21	–	10	.677
LSU	9	–	7	.563	20	–	10	.667
Alabama	8	–	8	.500	18	–	12	.600
Georgia	7	–	9	.438	17	–	14	.548
Florida	6	–	10	.375	15	–	15	.500
Missouri	5	–	11	.313	9	–	22	.290
Vanderbilt	4	–	12	.250	14	–	16	.467
Auburn	4	–	12	.250	11	–	18	.379
Ole Miss	0	–	16	.000	7	–	23	.233

† 2020 SEC tournament winner As of December 28, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

The 2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by twelfth-year head coach Dawn Staley, played their home games at the Colonial Life Arena and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference.

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2018–19 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Nelly Perry	0	G	5'10"	RS Senior	Camden, NJ	Graduated
Bianca Cuevas-Moore	1	G	5'6"	RS Senior	Bronx, NY	Graduated
Te'a Cooper	2	G	5'8"	RS Junior	Powder Springs, GA	Transferred to Baylor
Doniyah Cliney	4	G	6'0"	Senior	Newark, NJ	Graduated
Bianca Jackson	10	G	5'10"	Sophomore	Montgomery, AL	Transferred to Florida State
LaDazhia Williams	23	C	6'2"	Sophomore	Bradenton, FL	Transferred to Missouri
Alexis Jennings	35	F	6'2"	RS Senior	Laurel, MD	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Destiny Littleton	11	G	5'9"	RS Sophomore	San Diego, CA	Transferred from Texas. Will sit out a year due to NCAA rules.

Recruits

The Gamecocks signed the #1 class in the nation for 2019 according to ESPN^[3] and Prospects nation.^[4]

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aliyah Boston #1 P	Worcester, MA	Worcester Academy (MA)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	N/A	Nov 21, 2018
Aliyah Boston #1 P	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Zia Cooke #1 PG	Toledo, OH	Rogers	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	N/A	Nov 6, 2018
Zia Cooke #1 PG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Laeticia Amihere #2 F	Milton, ON	King's Way Christian	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Nov 14, 2018
Laeticia Amihere #2 F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Brea Beal #3 W	Rock Island, IL	Rock Island	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A	Nov 8, 2018
Brea Beal #3 W	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Overall recruiting rankings: ESPN: 1
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: "2019 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.

SEC Media Poll

Predicted finish	Team
SEC media poll
1	South Carolina
2	Texas A&M
3	Mississippi State
4	Kentucky
5	Arkansas
6	Tennessee
7	Auburn
8	LSU
9	Missouri
10	Georgia
11	Alabama
12	Florida
13	Ole Miss
14	Vanderbilt

Roster

2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Olivia Thompson	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Lexington HS	Lexington, SC
G	1	Zia Cooke	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Rogers HS	Toledo, OH
G	3	Destanni Henderson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	So	Fort Myers HS	Fort Myers, FL
F	4	Aliyah Boston	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Fr	Worcester (Mass.) Academy	Saint Thomas, VI
F	5	Victaria Saxton	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Model	Rome, GA
G	11	Destiny Littleton	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS So	The Bishop's School Texas	San Diego, CA
G	12	Brea Beal	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Rock Island HS	Rock Island, IL
F	15	Laeticia Amihere	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	RS Fr	Kings Way Christian	Mississauga, ON
F	21	Mikiah Herbert Harrigan	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	Flanagan HS	Pembroke Pines, FL
G	24	Lele Grissett	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr	Hillside HS	Durham, NC
F	32	Elysa Wesolek	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So	Northwood Academy	Charleston, SC
G	52	Tyasha Harris	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	Heritage Christian HS	Noblesville, IN

Head coach

Dawn Staley (Virginia)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/01/2019* 7:00 pm	No. 8	North Georgia	W 112–48	–	18 – Cooke	8 – Boston	5 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC
Regular season
11/05/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 8	Alabama State	W 103–43	1–0	13 – Tied	12 – Boston	4 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (10,586) Columbia, SC
11/10/2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN	No. 8	at No. 4 Maryland	W 63–54	2–0	14 – Boston	10 – Beal	4 – Tied	Xfinity Center (7,447) College Park, MD
11/13/2019* 3:00 pm	No. 6	at Dayton	W 75–49	3–0	27 – Cooke	10 – Beal	7 – Harris	UD Arena (2,331) Dayton, OH
11/17/2019* 2:00 pm, SECN+	No. 6	Appalachian State	W 92–50	4–0	21 – Herbert Harrigan	10 – Boston	4 – Brea	Colonial Life Arena (10,498) Columbia, SC
11/21/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 5	USC Upstate	W 112–32	5–0	18 – Tied	10 – Boston	6 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (10,052) Columbia, SC
11/24/2019* 2:00 pm, ACCN	No. 5	at Clemson Rivalry	W 84–48	6–0	13 – Herbert Harrigan	9 – Herbert Harrigan	4 – Henderson	Littlejohn Coliseum (2,840) Clemson, SC
11/28/2019* 8:00 pm	No. 5	vs. No. 17 Indiana Paradise Jam	L 57–71	6–1	13 – Herbert Harrigan	8 – Herbert Harrigan	5 – Harris	Sports and Fitness Center (1,924) St. Thomas, USVI
11/29/2019* 8:00 pm	No. 5	vs. Washington State Paradise Jam	W 68–53	7–1	20 – Herbert Harrigan	8 – Boston	3 – Harris	Sports and Fitness Center (1,806) Saint Thomas, USVI
11/30/2019* 8:00 pm	No. 5	vs. No. 2 Baylor Paradise Jam	W 74–59	8–1	20 – Tied	13 – Boston	7 – Harris	Sports and Fitness Center (2,424) Saint Thomas, USVI
12/07/2019* 3:00 pm	No. 6	at Temple	W 78–71	9–1	21 – Harris	8 – Boston	7 – Harris	McGonigle Hall (1,802) Philadelphia, PA
12/15/2019* 2:00 pm, SECN+	No. 5	Purdue	W 85–49	10–1	15 – Henderson	9 – Amihere	5 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (11,306) Columbia, SC
12/19/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 5	Duke	W 89–46	11–1	12 – Tied	8 – Tied	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (11,024) Columbia, SC
12/22/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 5	No. 25 South Dakota	W 73–60	12–1	17 – Grissett	9 – Boston	3 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (10,505) Columbia, SC
01/02/2020 7:40 pm, SECN	No. 4	No. 13 Kentucky	W 99–72	13–1 (1–0)	15 – Tied	6 – Boston	8 – Henderson	Colonial Life Arena (12,261) Columbia, SC
01/05/2020 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 4	at Alabama	W 93–78	14–1 (2–0)	20 – Cooke	12 – Boston	7 – Harris	Coleman Coliseum (2,168) Tuscaloosa, AL
01/09/2020 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 4	No. 21 Arkansas	W 91–82	15–1 (3–0)	21 – Cooke	25 – Boston	7 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (10,234) Columbia, SC
01/12/2020 5:00 pm, SECN	No. 4	at Vanderbilt	W 93–57	16–1 (4–0)	17 – Cooke	8 – Boston	6 – Harris	Memorial Gymnasium (2,447) Nashville, TN
01/16/2020 8:30 pm, SECN	No. 1	at Missouri	W 78–45	17–1 (5–0)	14 – Tied	13 – Beal	5 – Harris	Mizzou Arena (3,576) Columbia, MO
01/20/2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 1	No. 9 Mississippi State	W 81–79	18–1 (6–0)	23 – Harris	12 – Boston	7 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (13,163) Columbia, SC
01/26/2020 3:00 pm, SECN	No. 1	at Georgia	W 88–53	19–1 (7–0)	15 – Boston	6 – Tied	7 – Harris	Stegeman Coliseum (6,047) Athens, GA
01/30/2020 8:00 pm, SECN+	No. 1	at Ole Miss	W 87–32	20–1 (8–0)	16 – Amihere	8 – Boston	3 – Tied	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (1,225) Oxford, MS
02/02/2020 1:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 1	No. 22 Tennessee	W 69–48	21–1 (9–0)	20 – Cooke	8 – Herbert Harrigan	9 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (13,735) Columbia, SC
02/06/2020 8:30 pm, SECN	No. 1	at No. 25 Arkansas	W 86–65	22–1 (10–0)	25 – Herbert Harrigan	15 – Boston	5 – Harris	Bud Walton Arena (2,452) Fayetteville, AR
02/10/2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 1	No. 5 UConn	W 70–52	23–1	19 – Harris	12 – Boston	11 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
02/13/2020 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 1	Auburn	W 79–53	24–1 (11–0)	13 – Tied	8 – Saxton	5 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (11,417) Columbia, SC
02/17/2020 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 1	Vanderbilt	W 95–44	25–1 (12–0)	14 – Grissett	14 – Boston	6 – Henderson	Colonial Life Arena (11,249) Columbia, SC
02/20/2020 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 1	LSU	W 63–48	26–1 (13–0)	13 – Boston	9 – Boston	6 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (11,242) Columbia, SC
02/23/2020 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 1	at No. 14 Kentucky	W 67–58	27–1 (14–0)	20 – Cooke	11 – Boston	6 – Harris	Memorial Coliseum (7,174) Lexington, KY
02/27/2020 6:00 pm, SECN+	No. 1	at Florida	W 100–67	28–1 (15–0)	18 – Herbert Harrigan	9 – Tied	8 – Harris	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
03/01/2020 Noon, ESPN2	No. 1	No. 12 Texas A&M	W 60–52	29–1 (16–0)	20 – Herbert Harrigan	12 – Boston	6 – Harris	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
SEC Tournament
03/06/2020 Noon, SECN	(1) No. 1	vs. (9) Georgia Quarterfinals	W 89–56	30–1	16 – Herbert Harrigan	10 – Boston	7 – Henderson	Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC
03/07/2020 5:00 pm, ESPNU	(1) No. 1	vs. (5) No. 25 Arkansas Semifinals	W 90–64	31–1	21 – Henderson	13 – Boston	7 – Harris	Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC
03/08/2020 2:00 pm, ESPN2	(1) No. 1	vs. (2) No. 9 Mississippi State Championship	W 76–62	32–1	15 – Herbert Harrigan	11 – Tied	10 – Harris	Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ^[5]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA ended all play on March 12, 2020.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	8	8	6	5	5	6	5	5	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	1 (20)	1 (22)	1 (26)	1 (26)	1 (27)	1 (27)	1 (27)	1 (27)	1 (27)	1 (26)
Coaches	10	10	10^	6	6	7	6	6	5	5	5	2 (12)	2 (12)	2 (12)	2 (13)	1 (17)	1 (20)	1 (20)	1 (23)	1 (27)	1 (26)

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll

On December 31, 2020, during the 2020-21 home opener against Florida, the Gamecocks raised a championship banner recognising the mythical national championship claim by polls, located next to the 2017 NCAA championship banner. Following the 2021-22 season with an official NCAA championship, that season's NCAA championship banner was placed next to the 2019-20 banner, and is the same size as the official banners.^[6]

References

^ Hadley, Mark (March 8, 2019). "SEC shocker: Gamecocks upset by Arkansas to end tournament title streak". The State. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^ Hadley, Mark (March 30, 2019). "Season over: Strong Baylor start too much for USC to overcome in Sweet 16 loss". The State. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^ "2019 Women's Basketball Class Rankings". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
^ "Class Rankings -- 2019 -- Fall 2018". Prospects Nation. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
^ 2019-20 Women's Basketball Schedule
^ Welch, David. "Stadium Journey: Colonial Life Arena". Stadium Journey. Retrieved February 12, 2024.

[1] Hadley, Mark (March 8, 2019). "SEC shocker: Gamecocks upset by Arkansas to end tournament title streak". The State. Retrieved November 2, 2019.

[2] Hadley, Mark (March 30, 2019). "Season over: Strong Baylor start too much for USC to overcome in Sweet 16 loss". The State. Retrieved November 2, 2019.

[3] "2019 Women's Basketball Class Rankings". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2019.

[4] "Class Rankings -- 2019 -- Fall 2018". Prospects Nation. Retrieved November 24, 2019.

[5] 2019-20 Women's Basketball Schedule

[6] Welch, David. "Stadium Journey: Colonial Life Arena". Stadium Journey. Retrieved February 12, 2024.

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v t e South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball
Venues	Carolina Coliseum (1974–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)
Rivalries	Clemson
Culture & lore	History Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" The Freshies Garnet Army Full Court Press
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders Retired jerseys
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics