From 1-300: South Carolina women's basketball picks up milestone win over Clemson

On Tuesday night, South Carolina women’s basketball defeated Clemson, 65-37. The Gamecocks dominated defensively late to pick up the 15th win in a row in the Palmetto Series. Columbia-area native Joyce Edwards led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Madina Okot registered a double-double.

According to an announcement from the University of South Carolina, the victory marked the 300th win for the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena. The first one came on November 22, 2002, USC’s first regular-season appearance at CLA. That game was also a win over Clemson.

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Back in 2002, the contest was closer. South Carolina won, 72-58. It ended a long streak of wins for Clemson that dated back to a USC triumph in 1994.

Stars Jocelyn Penn and Cristina Ciocan each logged 23 points on efficient shooting numbers. The All-American Penn, the only player in Carolina history with multiple 50-point scoring efforts, also added six steals. Meanwhile, Ciocan, the program’s No. 2 player on the all-time assists list, dished out six dimes.

The ’02 squad was one of two NCAA Tournament teams under Susan Walvius. The Gamecocks finished 23-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Walvius was the head coach until Staley took over ahead of the 2008-2009 campaign.

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Between wins No. 1 and No. 300 at Colonial Life Arena, much has happened.

South Carolina grew from an occasional visitor in the NCAA Tournament to being one of the premier programs in the sport.

USC has won three National Championships, all since 2016-2017, and finished No. 1 in the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 campaign; no other school has multiple titles during that nine-year stretch. They’ve reached a No. 1 ranking at least once in eight separate seasons.

The Gamecocks have won nine SEC regular-season titles and nine SEC Tournaments, all under Staley.

Specifically against Clemson, South Carolina has flipped the all-time series. Though the Tigers led the rivalry series handily at the time of USC’s first win at Colonial Life Arena, the Gamecocks now lead by four games, thanks to 15 victories in a row. Since the move to CLA, Carolina is 19-4 in the series and has lost at home just twice. In fact, since the 2016-2017 National Championship season, the Gamecocks have fewer total losses (34) than Clemson has in the last two completed seasons (36).

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This year’s Gamecocks have their sights set on something much higher than the 2002-2003 group’s early NCAA Tournament exit. South Carolina has made five Final Fours in a row, and a sixth is very possible.

To get there, Staley’s team will navigate, like always, one of the country’s most difficult schedules.

3-0 overall through the first week and a half of the 2025-2026 season, Carolina will face its stiffest test yet this weekend. In a contest that has been dubbed part one of “The Real SC Series,” the Gamecocks will be in Los Angeles for a matchup against the Southern Cal Trojans. The game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern). Fox will handle the national broadcast, while the FoxSports app makes it available via streaming.

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