South Carolina downs No. 1 Texas to win SEC championship
GREENVILLE, S.C. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thought winning this year’s SEC championship would be much harder than any of the school’s previous titles after the league added Texas and Oklahoma to the mix.
But it didn’t look all that hard for the fifth-ranked Gamecocks.
Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, Tessa Johnson added 14 points and South Carolina completed a dominant three-day run in Greenville by knocking off No. 1-ranked and second-seeded Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third straight Southeastern Conference tournament championship and ninth title in the past 11 years under Staley.
“They are young people that come down here and perform to a high standard every single time they step on the floor, and for that I am super proud of them,” Staley said.
Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for the Gamecocks, who boldly staked their claim to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Gamecocks won their three tournament games by 21, 18 and 19 points, with the last two coming against newcomers No. 10 Oklahoma and Texas.
None of them looked prepared to handle South Carolina’s intensity.
South Carolina (30-3) never trailed and blew the game open with a 19-2 run to start the second quarter to build a 33-16 lead at the break behind a stifling defense. The lead ballooned to 21 early in the fourth quarter, and the Gamecocks were never threatened again.
“I took two timeouts in the second quarter, and we just could not stop (their momentum),” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.
Staley improved to 5-0 against Schaefer in the SEC title games, although the previous four came when he coached at Mississippi State.
Kitts average 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during the tournament and shot 74% from the field, and the Gamecocks got contributions from several players as Staley rolled in one talented player after another.
But the team defense was key.
The Gamecocks held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting to snap Texas’ 15-game win streak and forced 18 turnovers. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon led the Longhorns (31-3) with 14 points each.
Said Harmon: “We have another big tournament ahead of us and we have to learn from our mistakes … but this game will haunt us as a team.”
Schaefer said he still expects his team to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“One quarter, one game certainly doesn’t define our season,” Schaefer said.
Takeaways
Texas: Turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and shot 30% for the game.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks improved to 18-1 in SEC tournament games in Greenville, which is just a 90-minute drive from their home arena. The setting essentially served as a home game for the Gamecocks, who have one of strongest fan bases in women’s basketball. “It’s a road game. It is what it is,” Schaefer said. “To play them basically on their home floor makes it that much more difficult. If we were in San Antonio, people might be yelling for us.”
Key moment
Feagin’s lob pass inside to Kitts led to an and-1 to start the second quarter, igniting a 15-0 run.
Key stat
South Carolina outscored its three SEC tournament opponents 67-27 in the second quarter.
Up next
Both teams are expected to be No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Duke takes down NC State 76-62 to claim the ACC Championship in a comeback victory. (1:52)
GREENSBORO, N.C. — An Atlantic Coast Conference championship was freshly in its grasp, and the time had come for the Duke women’s basketball team to cut down the nets.
It had been a while, though, a dozen years in fact, since the Blue Devils had experienced this moment.
So Kara Lawson kept coaching her team long after the horn, holding a pair of scissors for each player until they reached the top, then pointing from below at which strand of net they should snip for themselves.
“I think it’s the first net-cutting for a lot of them, so just wanted to talk them through it,” she said with a smile, surrounded by confetti strewn about the court. “The heights thing is a real thing, when you get up there, sometimes it can be disorienting.”
It made sense, considering Lawson had plenty of practice as a player who won a WNBA championship and played at Tennessee under late Hall of Famer Pat Summitt. And she just wanted everything to go smoothly after five years of building that created this signature moment in what Duke calls the Kara era: a resounding second-half performance Sunday that overwhelmed No. 7 NC State 76-62 to clinch the program’s first ACC title since 2013.
It was also a milestone trophy-hoisting win for the 44-year-old Lawson, a first-time head coach who took over during the COVID-19 pandemic that ultimately cut her first season short after just four games.
“We knew that she was building something,” said sophomore reserve Oluchi Okananwa, the ACC tournament’s MVP who matched her career high with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds. “We knew she was building this. We knew this was what we were walking into, if we just bought in.”
Her team certainly did that, turning its stay in Greensboro into its own redemption tour by avenging regular-season losses first to Louisville, then to No. 6 Notre Dame to reach its first final since 2017, and finally the Wolfpack.
Her team came back after being down 14 in the first half, outscoring NC State 47-26 in the second half, shooting 55.2% while holding a Wolfpack team with veteran guards back from a Final Four run to just 32.3% shooting. Okananwa and Ashlon Jackson combined to score 24 second-half points, nearly matching the Wolfpack’s team total (26). And the Blue Devils pummeled the Wolfpack on the boards (26-10).
“This morning is when I had thoughts [about the journey], this morning I definitely thought of Coach Summitt,” Lawson said. “Definitely thought of her this morning and how excited she would be for the opportunity that we had. And that defensive performance in the second half, man, that was close to Tennessee defense back in the day. It was pretty good.”
Duke eventually got up 18 to make the final minutes a formality, even against a team that was in the final for the fifth time in six seasons, a run that included three straight titles from 2020-22.
That was on Lawson’s mind, too, as her players joined fans in celebrating an imminent title late. When the horn sounded, Lawson looked to the scoreboard, gave a slight nod as though to confirm the result, then went about shaking hands with the Wolfpack as her players mobbed each other behind her.
“The biggest thing for me is just to pay homage to that we beat,” Lawson said. “I mean, they’ve been the standard in this league for the last five years if you look at the championships they’ve won, how deep they’ve done in March. … It’s only fitting that we had to beat them to win an ACC championship, because they’ve been the team you have to beat.”
It wasn’t long, though, before her business-like expression was gone. Handshakes completed, Lawson was soon surrounded by players gathering to raise her on their shoulders and lightly toss her about, with Lawson breaking into a big smile and extending her right index finger skyward to proclaim Duke’s ascension to No. 1 in the 18-team league with five AP Top 25 teams.
Later, Lawson was sitting on the stage, her right arm around the trophy with the cut-down net draped atop it as she posed for photos.
It was a special moment, too, for athletic director Nina King. King oversaw the Duke women’s basketball program and ran point on the search that hired Lawson in 2020 before her own ascension to AD the following year.
King said she was in Cape Cod with family during the pandemic when former coach Joanne P. McCallie called to say she was stepping away from the job. At the time, Lawson had recently left broadcasting after her own WNBA playing career to become an assistant with the NBA’s Boston Celtics, giving King an opportunity to make an I-was-just-in-the-neighborhood connection with Lawson.
King soon hired her as a first-time college head coach, though Lawson had coaching experience for USA Basketball.
Now it’s on to the NCAA tournament as an opening-weekend host, with the Blue Devils eyeing a deeper push after last year’s Sweet 16 showing.
“Over Kara’s tenure, you could just see methodically what she’s been building,” said King, a former chairwoman of the NCAA tournament selection committee. “She’s been steadily bringing in top recruits. We’ve got talent on the court, and it was just kind of watching the building blocks each year.
“This is certainly what we envisioned. … I mean, it’s been a while since Duke has been on this stage.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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What channel is South Carolina vs Texas SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on today? Time, TV schedule
South Carolina women’s basketball can secure another SEC Tournament title in Sunday’s championship game against Texas on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (29-3) coasted to a 93-75 win over Oklahoma in the first semifinal on Saturday. South Carolina can win its fourth conference tournament in five seasons.
Texas (31-2) has an opportunity to win the conference tournament in Year 1 in the SEC, advancing after Saturday’s 56-49 win over LSU in the semifinal.
Here’s how to watch the South Carolina vs Texas in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:
South Carolina vs. Texas will broadcast nationally on ESPN. Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo will call the game in Greenville, with Holly Rowe reporting from the sideline. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
The South Carolina women’s basketball vs. Texas game starts at 3 p.m. Sunday from Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Greenville News reporter Lulu Kesin’s prediction: South Carolina 85, Texas 77
The Gamecocks are going to take this game seriously and will come out on top.
Record: 29-3
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What channel is South Carolina vs Texas SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship on today?
South Carolina vs Texas SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship time today
South Carolina vs Texas SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship predictions, picks, odds
South Carolina women’s basketball schedule 2024-2025
South Carolina vs. Texas odds, free women’s college basketball picks: Longhorns cover in 2025 SEC Tournament
The 2025 SEC Women’s Tournament will conclude on Sunday when No. 1 seed South Carolina takes on No. 2 seed Texas. The Gamecocks have won the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in eight of the last 10 seasons. These two teams split their two regular-season matchups, with No. 5 South Carolina winning 67-50 at home on Jan. 12 while No. 1 Texas won 66-62 on Feb. 9 in its own building. The Gamecocks will have a slight edge playing in their home state but not a lot separates these two proud programs this season.
For the 2025 SEC Women’s Tournament final, tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. The latest South Carolina vs. Texas odds list the Gamecocks as 3.5-point favorites, while the over/under for total points scored is 135.5 points. Before making any Texas vs. South Carolina picks, be sure to see the women’s college basketball picks from SportsLine’s Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai.
Wetzel and Barzilai nailed Iowa’s win and cover against UConn in the Final Four last year and also called three 2024 Final Four teams before the tournament started.
Now they’ve turned their attention to South Carolina vs. Texas in the 2025 SEC Women’s Tournament final and they’ve revealed their best bets.
Both of these teams have a solid chance of being No. 1 seeds in the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament and this will already be the third head-to-head meeting of the season. Texas’ only two losses this season came on the road in overtime against No. 10 Notre Dame and then at South Carolina. “Take the Longhorns at +4.5 or down to +2.5, and expect a down-to-the-wire finish,” Wetzel told SportsLine.
The Pick: Texas +3.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook
Projected final score: South Carolina 65, Texas 64
Two regular-season matchups between these two programs yielded 117 points and 128 points, respectively, so expect these teams to put their best foot forward defensively. They’re familiar with each other and both teams are giving up fewer than 60 points per game this season. “Given the way these two teams neutralize each other’s offensive styles, the under may be a good look as well. I’m projecting a 65-64 South Carolina win,” Wetzel said.
The Pick: Under 135.5 (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook
Projected final score: South Carolina 65, Texas 64
It’s a loaded day of action on the men’s side as well and SportsLine’s proven model has simulated every game 10,000 times. Visit SportsLine to get picks for every game right here.
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