South Carolina Women’s Basketball to Open Season in Las Vegas

South Carolina women’s basketball will open the 2024-25 “repeat tour” season with a game in Las Vegas, coach Dawn Staley said Wednesday in a radio interview with 107.5 The Game. USC’s original opponent for that game backed out, she added, so who the Gamecocks will take on in Nevada is still to be determined. She did not reveal who the original team was or a date for the game. It could be part of the Hall of Fame Series, but Staley didn’t specify that directly.

Challenges in Putting Together the Schedule

“It’s really hard because people don’t want to play us,” Staley said of the challenges that come with putting together a schedule. “And, I mean, really good teams don’t want to play. And I just I don’t get it.”

The Gamecocks finished the 2023-24 season as the first undefeated national champions since UConn in 2016. It marked South Carolina’s third NCAA title in program history, all achieved in the Staley era.

Teased Big Games and Schedule Highlights

Staley teased a couple other big games for next season as well and clarified that the 2024-25 schedule is not yet finished. UConn will be back in Columbia for the annual rivalry game. South Carolina will also participate in the ACC/SEC challenge again, likely playing one of the ACC’s top teams. The Gamecocks will travel to California to take on the UCLA Bruins on the road, finishing the home-and-home series started in 2022.

Upcoming Matchups

South Carolina will also finish its home-and-home series with East Carolina in Columbia next season. The Gamecocks will also play Duke again as part of a multi-year contract. USC will also finish its home-and-home with Bowling Green State University in Columbia after defeating the Falcons last year.

Exciting Opener Against North Carolina State

The Gamecocks will take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Nov. 10 in the 2024 Ally Tipoff in Charlotte. USC and N.C. State will compete at the Spectrum Center as one game of a double-header, which also includes Iowa vs. Virginia Tech.

USC opened the 2023-24 season in Paris versus Notre Dame, the first-ever NCAA basketball game played on European soil.

South Carolina Women’s Basketball to Open Season in Las Vegas