Women's Tire Set for Memphis Exhibition – University of South Carolina Athletics

South Carolina women's basketball unofficially opens its 2024-25 season Tuesday night against Memphis in the inaugural Hoops for St. Jude^® Tip Off Classic in the FedExForum.

The Memphis Series
The Gamecocks hold a 17-5 lead over the Tigers in the all-time series, including wins in the last 10 meetings, but the teams have met only once since the turn of the century.

Memphis traveled to Columbia with the then No. 1 team in the 2022-23 season. 1/1 Gamecocks earn a 79-54 victory (December 3). Four current Gamecocks played in this game, led by Sania Feagin with 11 points and four rebounds.

Gamecock Celebrities

• This is the second consecutive season that South Carolina will participate in a charity exhibition game against another NCAA division. I opponents. Last season, the Gamecocks hosted Rutgers for a game to celebrate the life of Nikki McCray-Penson, who was a member of both coaching staffs during her career and passed away in the summer of 2023. The two teams competed to honor and raise money to fight breast cancer.
• Tonight's game marks the unofficial start of South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley's 17th season in Columbia and her 25th season as head coach. The Naismith Hall of Famer is also building a Hall of Fame coaching resume, leading the Gamecocks to six NCAA Final Fours and three national championships in the last nine tournaments. Her winning percentage of .767 is the 11th best in NCAA women's basketball history.
• Over the past five seasons, the Gamecocks have a 167-9 (.949) record, including last season's undefeated national championship streak that made South Carolina the fifth program in NCAA history to achieve that.
• South Carolina's undefeated season relied on its unpredictability. With so many ways to win games, the Gamecocks kept their opponents off balance. Seven players averaged at least 8.0 points; four averaged at least 5.0 rebounds, four averaged at least 2.0 assists per game, and all but every player on the season-ending roster shot at least 43.0 percent from the field.
• Nine letterwinners from last season's undefeated national championship team return this season, including All-American Te-Hina Paopao and her All-SEC colleagues Raven Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins.
• The Gamecocks are returning 83.9 percent of their points from last season, 78.0 percent of their rebounds, 89.0 percent of their assists, 72.1 percent of their blocked shots and 98.4 percent of their 3-pointers.
• This season's team added the No. 2 recruiting class (ESPN) with three top-30 signees as well as Arkansas transfer Maryam Dauda.
• In a poll conducted by the SEC and national media, South Carolina was once again voted SEC champions in the new, expanded league – for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Senior Te-Hina Paopao earned Preseason All-SEC First-Team honors. Fellow guards MiLaysia Fulwiley and Raven Johnson received second-team recognition.

Exhibition exception
Exhibitions between two NCAA Div. I-Teams benefit from an exception to the usual rule that allows teams to play if they raise money for a good cause.

Today's St. Jude® Tip Off Classic was organized by Complete Sports Management (CSM) and brought together basketball stars in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. All four teams sponsored donations to St. Jude® and proceeds from ticket sales directly benefit the hospital's life-saving mission, where no family receives a bill for treatment, travel, lodging or food.

Serious scheduling
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was never afraid to challenge her team to prepare them for the rigors of March and April. This season is no different.

The Gamecocks' 30-game regular-season schedule includes 12 games against teams in the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25, including four against teams in the top 5 and four more against top-10 opponents. Five of those 12 games come against non-conference opponents, all ranked in the top 10.

Over the last 10 seasons, South Carolina has played an average of 9.6 regular season games against ranked opponents.

Three teams battled for the high mark of 12 this season – 2019-20 (11-1), 2017-18 (6-6), 2015-16 (11-1). In each of those years, four of the twelve games were non-conference games. The 2021-22 Gamecocks went a perfect 11-0 against their ranked regular season opponents, including six non-conference wins.

Newcomer news
South Carolina added four freshmen to this season's roster, including redshirt freshman Adhel Tac, who was part of the class of 2024 but enrolled in January while recovering from a season-ending injury. The trio of freshmen formed the No. 2 signing class in the country, led by the No. 3 prospect in the class, Joyce Edwards, according to ESPN.

Everyone is All-American
The Gamecocks' 13-man roster includes 10 McDonald's All-Americans – Maryam Dauda, ​​Joyce Edwards, Sania Feagin, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, Maddy McDaniel, Te-Hina Paopao and Ashlyn Watkins.

At South Carolina, Staley coached 26 McDonald's All-Americans, including 20 who joined the Gamecocks as freshmen.