COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball won’t play UConn this season, the first time in 11 seasons but will resume the rivalry in 2026 and 2027.
“It’s important,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said Nov. 6 about adding the series back on the schedule. “We’ve been accused of ducking and all that crap. Like, come on, we played UConn for the past 11 seasons, now is time to duck? We could have ducked 7, 8, 9 years ago.”
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It was announced on Nov. 5 that the Gamecocks will play the Huskies in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Nov. 24, 2026, at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.
A day later, it was revealed that South Carolina and UConn will play in 2027 in the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Staley confirmed that the reason why the series contract was not renewed for this season was because the Big East shifted to 20 conference games, which made it hard to schedule. UConn already had a non-conference contract to follow through with Tennessee and Notre Dame.
The online discourse that Staley referred to came after it was announced the two teams wouldn’t play this season, just after UConn beat South Carolina twice in 2024-25. The Gamecocks lost at home in February then again in the national championship game, both by more than 20 points.
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“It’s a great competition for us and for women’s basketball,” Staley added.
Before the 2025 title game, Staley was undefeated in national championship games and had previously become the first coach to beat UConn’s Geno Auriemma in a championship game.
Staley, who is in her 18th season, didn’t win against Auriemma until 2020. South Carolina won four straight from 2021-24.
What is Dawn Staley’s record vs Geno Auriemma?
Staley is 1-1 against Auriemma in national championship games and 5-10 against him overall, winning four straight from 2021-24.
Overall, the Gamecocks are 5-11 in the series, which is tied 2-2 in neutral site games. South Carolina beat UConn in Columbia in 2024, part of its undefeated season that ended with a national championship win.
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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: Dawn Staley on ‘ducking’ allegations regarding South Carolina vs UConn
