South Carolina women’s basketball is heading back to France. The Gamecocks will open the 2026-27 season with Maryland in Paris on Nov. 2, 2026.
The announcement came Monday, Nov. 3.
The Gamecocks participated in the historic first Oui Play event in 2023, beating Notre Dame and eventually went on to win the national championship after a perfect 38-0 season. It marked the first NCAA regular-season game in Paris.
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Since the inaugural Oui Play event, it’s now a doubleheader and in the Adidas Arena, which opened in 2024 and was used in the Paris Olympics over the summer of 2024. Adidas Arena holds 9,000, compared to Halle Georges Carpentier Arena, which held 5,000 when South Carolina played there in 2023.
This season, Duke and Baylor played in the first game with Cal and Vanderbilt the second women’s game on Nov. 3.
Dawn Staley opens her 18th season on Nov. 3 (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) at home against Grand Canyon. The Gamecocks are No. 2 in both the USA TODAY coaches and AP top 25 preseason poll.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina, Dawn Staley to open 2026-27 season in Paris vs. Maryland
