Caldwell, new to the Lady Volunteers program this season, has been conquering two things: building a program and growing a baby. That’s right. Caldwell’s been coaching her squad while pregnant, which earned her peers’ respect, including LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who gave her a baby gift earlier this month. But Caldwell’s determination also caught the eye of South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.
One week after having a baby boy, the Tennessee coach was back on the sidelines Monday night, coaching against the Gamecocks. That decision left Staley in awe. Here’s what she shared postgame about Caldwell (See the 54-second mark of the YouTube video below):
“Women have the strength of 10 men—no doubt about it …When you have a coach that really wants to hang another banner, it comes as a sacrifice. She’s probably a better woman than me. I don’t know if I could be detached from my little one for that long, but she’s got great help, and she wanted to be here with her team.”
Women have to make decisions like that, and when they do, I feel like other women should honor them and let them know that we see you. We feel you. We hear you.”
LSU dropped another one to South Carolina. Here are five takeaways from the loss.
LSU women’s basketball will have to wait longer to snap its [autotag]South Carolina[/autotag] losing streak. The Gamecocks won their 17th straight of the series on Friday afternoon, winning a top-five battle in Columbia by a final score of 66-56.
After a competitive first half, South Carolina went on a run to open the third quarter. [autotag]Dawn Staley[/autotag] and the Gamecocks held the lead from there.
[autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] had another double-double and now has 93 in her career. She led the way for LSU with 15 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
[autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson [/autotag] also scored in double-digits.
[autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] and LSU have won a lot since she arrived in Baton Rouge, but a win over South Carolina proves to be an evasive task. Last year, LSU got a second crack vs. the Gamecocks in the SEC Championship game. The two may be on a collision course to meet there again this year.
Here are five takeaways from LSU’s loss.
Turnovers remain an issue for LSU
LSU’s offensive identity is built on playing in transition and scoring in the paint. When defenses slow the game down and force LSU to play half-court basketball, the Tigers are prone to struggles.
We saw that on Friday, with turnovers being an issue for Mulkey’s squad. LSU protected the ball early, but South Carolina started to create havoc in the second quarter. That trend continued into the second half.
LSU finished with 17 turnovers and South Carolina had 20 points off turnovers.
LSU slows down after explosive first-quarter
LSU looked good in the first quarter. The Tigers hit two early three-pointers and were cashing in on second-chance point. Mulkey’s crew scored 22 points in the first 10 minutes, but South Carolina had success of its own, scoring 21.
That’s as good as it got for LSU and after that, the Gamecocks defense locked in. LSU scored just eight points in the second and 12 in the third. At that point, LSU started to lose poise as Carolina played with a lead and energy from their home crowd.
LSU finished just 23 of 75 from the field.
South Carolina takes advantage of free-throws
LSU was called for 17 fouls on Friday evening and South Carolina took advantage.
The Gamecocks took advantage, sinking 17 free-throws. South Carolina had a 10-point advantage in this department, with LSU going 7/9 from the line. Without that +10 margin, this game looks a lot different.
LSU faces uphill battle for No. 1 seed
Despite entering the game 20-0, LSU was not a No. 1 seed according to ESPN “bracketologist” Charlie Creme. After the loss, the Tiger’s chances at a top seed are slim.
LSU’s nonconference schedule was relatively easy and the Tigers didn’t get many resume-building chances. And even with the strength of the SEC, it will be hard for LSU’s resume to stack up with the nation’s best teams when Selection Sunday rolls around.
South Carolina still haunts LSU
In the grand scheme of things, a regular season loss doesn’t matter. South Carolina blew LSU out in 2023 and the Tigers went on to win the national title.
But this is a budding rivalry — and LSU wants to exercise this demon at some point.
LSU is competitive with South Carolina, but the Gamecocks have continually made the plays when it mattered at key points in these games. If LSU doesn’t see South Carolina in the postseason. the Tigers will get the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge next year. Maybe some home cooking can get it done for LSU.
LSU and South Carolina will meet again on Friday. What did Dawn Staley have to say about the Tigers?
The biggest game of the women’s college basketball season features a bitter rivalry between two SEC foes.
No. 5 LSU heads to No. 2 South Carolina on Friday for a 5 PM tipoff. Two heated matchups last season, including in the SEC championship, fostered competitiveness from the teams led by two of the best head coaches in the game.
Gamecocks head coach [autotag]Dawn Staley[/autotag] gave her LSU counterpart [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] and her team praise during an appearance Thursday on SEC Now but acknowledged the game is bigger than both of them.
“We both have strong personalities, both want to win and are super competitive but we also know it is not about us,” Staley said. “It’s more about the players and their ability to execute out there.”
The players know what is at stake on Friday — as evidenced by the intensity on the court every time the two meet. Staley talked about the same attitude being employed by fans of both programs.
“It’s not only a rivalry between the programs on the floor but it’s a rivalry with the fan bases because you can’t say one bad thing about LSU without LSU fans hopping on our fans,” Staley said. “You can’t say nothing about our fans that isn’t positive or else they’re jawing back and forth.”
The teams are responsible for the sport’s last two national titles (LSU in 2023 and South Carolina in 2024), bringing lots of investment into each program. Staley talked about the increase in attention to women’s basketball and how it translates to Friday’s game.
“I think it’s so very good for our game that people are very interested in this rivalry,” Staley said. “They’re going to get their money’s worth.”
LSU will face South Carolina in a top-five battle on Thursday night. Here’s a complete preview and breakdown.
Note: LSU vs. South Carolina has been postponed to Friday at 4 PM CT due to the impacts of winter storm Enzo.
It’s here. LSU vs. South Carolina.
When the women’s basketball schedule is released, this one is circled. For the last three years, this game has been the sport’s marquee matchup. It’s no different in 2025.
The contest features the last two national champions, with LSU winning it all in 2023, followed by South Carolina in 2024. It features two of the winningest and most high-profile coaches in the sport — LSU’s [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] and South Carolina’s [autotag]Dawn Staley.[/autotag]
You get the point. It’s a big deal.
Winning and losing this game can be the difference between getting a No. 1 seed or falling to the three-line.
Recently, the series has been dominated by South Carolina. Mulkey’s crew is still searching for that first breakthrough. In some ways, it’s the one thing Mulkey hasn’t done since arriving in Baton Rouge — beat South Carolina.
LSU will give it another shot on Thursday night, hoping to go on the road and get a massive win.
Here’s a preview of the top-five matchup.
When LSU has the ball
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
With 90.6 points per game, LSU’s scoring offense ranks third in the sport. The Tigers have three scorers that can take charge on any given night. Guard [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] leads the way, averaging 20 per contest.
Player
Minutes
Points
FG%
Flau’Jae Johnson
31.4
20.0
49.2%
Aneesah Morrow
32.6
18.7
54.6%
Mikaylah Williams
29.6
16.5
48.0%
As far as top scoring options go, this is Mulkey’s most balanced LSU team. Defenses can’t key in on one player. But South Carolina has the best defense LSU has seen all year. Staley’s defense ranks No. 5 nationally in eFG% allowed. The Gamecocks don’t foul much either, preventing teams from getting free points.
LSU will have to speed this game up and win in transition. LSU is good, but the Tigers aren’t consistent enough in the half-court offense to keep up with South Carolina.
The good news: LSU likes playing fast. The Tigers already have the needed identity to pull the upset.
But there will be times when South Carolina slows it down. LSU must figure a response. LSU’s assisted shot rate ranks 335th in the country — that mark needs to be improved on Thursday if LSU wants to win.
Another potential issue for LSU is scoring in the paint. That’s where Mulkey wants to do most of her work, but South Carolina ranks No. 7 in the sport with six blocks per game. The Gamecocks have a size advantage down low.
If LSU is forced to hoist more jumpers than usual, it needs consistency from Johnson and Williams.
When South Carolina has the ball
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina’s offense doesn’t play as fast as LSU, but the Gamecocks rank No. 8 nationally in pts/100 possessions. Staley relies on a committee of scorers to find points.
South Carolina’s leading scorer is Joyce Edwards with 12.1 points per game, but five Gamecocks average over nine per contest. MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hine Paopao both average double-digits.
South Carolina plays fundamental basketball and rarely turns it over — ranking No. 10 nationally in assists/turnovers and turnover rate.
We talked about LSU’s need to play fast and play in transition. That starts with finding a way to create turnovers on the defensive end.
It’s not a huge part of Carolina’s offense, but the Gamecocks can get it done from three with PaoPao, Tessa Johnson, and Bree Hall threatening from behind the arch. That’s bad news for an LSU defense that sometimes struggles to defend deep.
Ironically, South Carolina’s lone loss to UCLA was its best three-point performance of the year.
LSU’s recipe on this side of the ball is make South Carolina uncomfortable. Staley’s offense will find a way to score, but LSU must make them work for it.
How important is this game for LSU?
(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
This is a big game, but at the end of the day, it’s just a regular season game. Yes, LSU wants to get over the hump and beat South Carolina, but its a long season. LSU lost to South Carolina in 2023 and still went on to win the national title.
But it’s still not just another game. This is a rivalry and it means something.
Prediction
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
I think LSU has the tools to pull off an upset, but I’m going with the Gamecocks at home. Both teams are well-coached but South Carolina can win any type of game while LSU is at its best when its playing its style. South Carolina takes control early and makes LSU uncomfortable.
Alabama’s only two losses in conference play are to two top 10 teams. Here’s an updated look at where the Crimson Tide rank.
Behind 21 points from Zaay Green and 19 from Karly Weathers on 5-of-6 from three-point range, the Alabama Crimson Tide ran away from the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 94-62 blowout win at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville last Sunday.
Alabama’s strong bounce-back win at Arkansas — after previously falling to Dawn Staley’s defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks program earlier in the week — kept the Crimson Tide at No. 19 in the new USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll Tuesday. It’s the third straight week Alabama has been No. 19.
The Crimson Tide (17-3 overall, 4-2 SEC) are ranked one spot below No. 18 Georgia Tech and one spot above No. 20 NC State. Alabama’s only two losses in conference play this year are to Staley’s Gamecocks and the top 10-ranked Texas Longhorns.
Coach Kristy Curry’s team has a midweek bye before facing the Vanderbilt Commodores (15-4, 2-3) Sunday at 1 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum. The game will televised on SEC Network. According to ESPN Analytics’ “Matchup Predictor,” Alabama has a 58.1 percent chance of beating Vanderbilt.
The UCLA Bruins (18-0) took the top spot in the Coaches Poll, running their streak to eight straight weeks at No. 1. South Carolina (18-1) was No. 2 after beating Alabama and a top-15 Oklahoma team.
The top seven spots in the coaches poll remained the same with Notre Dame (16-2) at No. 3, Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers (20-0) at No. 4, and JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans (17-1) at No. 5. Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies (17-2) were No. 6, with Texas (18-2) No. 7.
As with last week’s poll, the SEC had seven teams in the Top 25. Outside of the top 10, the Kentucky Wildcats (16-1) were No. 11 with Oklahoma (15-4) at No. 15. The Tennessee Lady Vols (No. 17, 15-3) were also ranked in the top 25.
USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll Week 12
Rank
School
Record
Points
1
UCLA
18-0
773 (29)
2
South Carolina
18-1
743 (2)
3
Notre Dame
16-2
702
4
LSU
20-0
677
5
USC
17-1
658
6
UConn
17-2
606
7
Texas
18-2
601
8
Kansas State
19-1
535
9
TCU
19-1
525
10
Maryland
16-2
466
11
Kentucky
16-1
463
12
Ohio State
17-1
454
13
North Carolina
17-3
409
14
Duke
15-4
347
15
Oklahoma
15-4
337
16
West Virginia
15-3
274
17
Tennessee
15-3
266
18
Georgia Tech
16-3
241
19
Alabama
17-3
214
20
NC State
14-4
198
21
California
17-3
169
22
Michigan State
15-3
150
23
Baylor
16-4
73
24
Minnesota
17-2
45
25
Nebraska
15-4
35
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Cori Close should certainly get a pay raise in light of everything else which is happening in the women’s basketball coaching industry.
UCLA Athletics might have to pony up some money for a potential contract extension for women’s basketball head coach Cori Close. South Carolina and head coach Dawn Staley agreed to an extension through the 2029-2030 season worth up to $25.25 million.
Staley’s deal has a base salary of $4 million per season, along with a $500,000 signing bonus with $250,000 coming in annual escalators. The deal is worlds away from Close’s contract, which was $774,722 in total pay in 2024. Close also received a $100,000 retention payment for remaining with the Bruins through June of 2024.
In 2024, Close was the 28th-highest-paid women’s college basketball coach, with 18 coaches making seven figures. Close has outperformed her salary by record and by bringing in No. 2 prospect Kiki Rice in 2022 and No. 1-ranked transfer Lauren Betts in 2023.
It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll see Louis Vuitton Dawn rocking some killer look when you scan the sidelines during any of South Carolina’s games. When No. 5 Texas visited the Gamecocks on Sunday, the Philly native was dressed for the occasion.
With her hometown Eagles in the playoffs, she had to represent them. Staley wore a sweet custom jacket that included an homage to Philadelphia legend Randall Cunningham. Of course, it was decked out in the Eagles’ throwback colors, including the throwback logo and a massive photo of the quarterback. You gotta see this because it’s so good.
On Sunday, South Carolina’s 43-game win streak came tumbling down, and the murmurs will start about whether this is the “end of an era” for head coach Dawn Staley and her squad. However, let’s not do that.
Watching UCLA steamroll South Carolina, it’s pretty easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and say, “Pack it up, Gamecocks. You’re done.” But, if you’ve been paying attention, this was inevitable. From the team’s season opener against Michigan until now, South Carolina has been skating along.
The Gamecocks escaped multiple matchups despite substandard shooting and being bullied by buckets from all over the court. Most teams didn’t have enough to compete with the Gamecocks down the stretch of games, and South Carolina’s signature pesky defense usually saved them. However, UCLA was different. As Dawn Staley said after Sunday’s shellacking, “We ran into a buzz saw today.”
However, I would be more concerned if this was March. It’s November, and the team has played just six games with a tweaked roster.
It must be considered that South Carolina is still working through the loss of former center Kamilla Cardoso and how to replace her defensive presence, ability to rebound, and paint production. You can’t readily recreate 6-foot-seven with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game. Sania Feagin and Chloe Kitts are stellar, but they aren’t Cardoso.
Also, while South Carolina’s shooting woes have also extended across the team, plaguing standouts like Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao (and fans are starting to question what’s also happening with MiLaysia Fulwiley), this is Dawn Staley we’re talking about. She’s one of the best coaches in college basketball and the queen of adjustments. Staley will figure it out.
If she doesn’t, I’ll happily be wrong. Feel free to yell and scream at me for my horrid analysis. But this isn’t concerning…yet.
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team put the women’s college basketball world on notice Saturday.
Staley and her crew were “in the building,” as the kids say, for College GameDay shenanigans and to be honored on the field ahead of a wild matchup with LSU. While chatting with the GameDay staff, Staley talked about the upcoming season and some of her team’s goals, including running it back with the national championship trophy.
Despite losing a pivotal player in the team’s starting lineup, like Kamilla Cardoso, to the WNBA, Staley says the goal remains the same. With the help of guard Raven Johnson, here’s what she told fans and anyone watching the broadcast (See the clip below and the 1:15 mark of the YouTube video):
“[I’m] excited for this group, for this team to — what do we call it, Raven? — the repeat tour. Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Watkins was charged with assault and battery in the first degree and kidnapping.
South Carolina women’s basketball player Ashlyn Watkins was arrested and charged with assault and battery in the first degree and kidnapping on Saturday morning, according to Richland County court records reviewed by For The Win.
Watkins posted a $30,000 bond and was instructed by the court to have “no direct or indirect contact with the victim,” and to stay at least 1,000 yards away from the alleged victim’s home, work, school and place of worship. The court did grant Watkins – a 6-foot-3 junior who played a key role on the Gamecocks’ undefeated national championship-winning team this past winter – permission to travel out of state for games and practice.
According to The State and the Post & Courier newspapers, South Carolina has a policy in which an automatic suspension is triggered whenever an athlete is arrested.
Court records show that Watkins is set to appear in court again on Oct. 25, 2024, just days before the Gamecocks open their title defense in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Michigan on Nov. 4.
Here’s what we know and what we don’t know.
What is South Carolina saying?
So far, as of Saturday afternoon, not much. A spokesperson for the university told the State newspaper they are “aware of the situation and continuing to gather information.” The university gave a similar statement to ESPN.
Gamecocks’ coach Dawn Staley, known to be active on social media, has yet to make a comment through her own channels or the university.
What other details are in police documents?
According to warrants filed by the University of South Carolina Police Department that were obtained by the State newspaper and TV station WLTX, Watkins is accused of “forcefully grabbing (the victim’s) face, pulling her by her arms, and pushing her” and grabbing “the victim’s head and forced her to walk down the hall, thus controlling her movement while preventing her from leaving.”
The alleged victim, according to the warrant, got away from Watkins and pulled a fire alarm, prompting police to arrive. The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the Post & Courier, the incident occurred at 650 Lincoln Street which is a student housing residence where all Gamecocks basketball players live.
What don’t we know?
We don’t yet know if Watkins will be suspended, kicked off the team or face any punishment at all from her arrest and the allegations that prompted it. We also don’t know what sort of relationship Watkins had with the victim or who the victim is.
Who is Ashlyn Watkins?
A forward for the South Carolina women’s basketball team, Watkins played an integral role in helping the Gamecocks go undefeated in the 2023-24 season, which concluded with them winning their third national championship, beating Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Cleveland, Ohio. Watkins’ play was incredibly crucial in the Final Four, where she grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds and scored eight points in a win over N.C. State.
Watkins averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game as a sophomore and was due for an even bigger role this year with former frontcourt mate Kamilla Cardoso leaving South Carolina for the WNBA.
She played her high school basketball at Columbia, South Carolina’s Cardinal Newman School where she became the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 and rose to No. 12 on ESPN’s recruiting rankings.
