Almost exactly a year ago, South Carolina was stunned in the SEC tournament title game when Kentucky hit the championship-clinching shot with less than five seconds remaining.
The moment feels like an eternity ago — in reality, 366 days have passed — given all the Gamecocks have accomplished since: a national championship, the SEC regular-season and tournament titles and, most notably, an undefeated streak of 38 games dating to last season that now officially stretches a calendar year. The Gamecocks ensured it by breezing past the competition this past weekend in Greenville, South Carolina, winning each game by an average margin of 24 points.
Nothing is guaranteed in the 2023 women’s NCAA tournament, where South Carolina is sure to be the No. 1 overall seed, but the Gamecocks are officially within reach of not just repeating as national champions but joining the exclusive club of programs that have achieved undefeated seasons.
Only four programs can claim such a feat: Texas (1985-86), Tennessee (1997-98), Baylor (2011-12) and, six times, UConn (1994-95, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2015-2016). Only two, the Lady Vols and Huskies (three times), repeated as national champions while going undefeated in the process.
This year’s Gamecocks became the…
