The champagne has already been popped, the net nearly clipped — but the mission isn’t finished. The No. 3-ranked head to Lexington on Sunday with one goal left in the regular season: slam the door shut.
Inside , the No. 16 will be waiting, desperate for positioning, hungry to shake up the SEC standings, and eager to test themselves against a team that just clinched its fifth straight league crown.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET. The stakes? Different — but real — on both benches.
South Carolina (28-2, 14-1 SEC) has already secured the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament. Kentucky (21-8, 8-7 SEC) is fighting to avoid slipping as low as the No. 10 seed.
One team plays to finish strong. The other plays to survive.
A Title Clinched — But No Letup
When cuts down a net, it’s rarely about celebration alone. It’s about standard. Precision. Edge.
The Gamecocks locked up the SEC regular-season championship Thursday night, yet the tone hasn’t softened. The practices are still sharp. The rotations still intentional. The message clear: momentum matters.
South Carolina’s dominance over the past month has been methodical. Defensively suffocating. Offensively balanced. The Gamecocks don’t just win — they grind teams into submission.
And Kentucky knows it.
Quick Injury Update: Eyes on Johnson, Tac
South Carolina fans will wait for the official SEC injury report Saturday night, but there are signs of cautious optimism.
Guard Bree Hall Johnson (upper body contusion) missed Thursday’s win over Missouri. She was visible during the media viewing portion of Friday’s practice — moving fluidly, participating, showing no obvious limitations. That’s a positive.
Sophomore forward Adhel Tac remains sidelined with a lower leg injury and was still using a scooter Friday afternoon. Her status remains uncertain.
Availability could influence rotations — especially in a game that may demand depth against Kentucky’s physical frontcourt.
The Paint War: Madina Okot vs. Clara Strack
If you love post play, this is your showdown.
On one block stands — 6-foot-6, relentless on the glass, brimming with renewed confidence.
On the other? — 6-foot-5, reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and one of the most disruptive interior forces in the league.
Strack’s numbers leap off the stat sheet:
- 16.4 points per game
- 10.2 rebounds
- 2.7 blocks
She anchors Kentucky on both ends. Physical. Unafraid. Constantly moving bodies in the lane.
Okot, meanwhile, is peaking at precisely the right time.
After briefly coming off the bench earlier this season to reset during a late-January slump, she’s erupted. Six straight double-doubles. A commanding presence on the boards. An SEC-best 10.9 rebounds per game.
In her last six outings, she’s averaging 15.2 points and 14.3 rebounds — a stretch that has transformed her from contributor to tone-setter.
The collision Sunday won’t just be about size. It’ll be leverage. Footwork. Timing. Help defense. Staley has already hinted that Okot won’t be left alone without support.
Expect elbows. Expect bodies on the floor. Expect a game within the game.
For a deeper look at advanced metrics and projections, ESPN’s analytics page gives South Carolina an 82.2% win probability (via https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/), while Bart Torvik’s model projects an 86% chance and lists the Gamecocks as roughly 10-point favorites (via https://barttorvik.com/).
Numbers favor South Carolina.
The paint battle may decide how comfortable that margin feels.
Series History: A Decade of Control
The numbers tell a story of dominance.
South Carolina leads the all-time series 42-35 and has won the last five meetings. Even more striking: those five victories have come by an average of 27.8 points.
The most lopsided? A 48-point demolition in Lexington in 2024 — a night when the Gamecocks silenced the building early and never looked back.
Kentucky has beaten South Carolina only three times since 2015:
- 2022 SEC Tournament Championship
- 2019 regular season
- 2015 regular season
The Wildcats haven’t beaten the Gamecocks at home since 2015.
History, however, doesn’t defend post entries or secure rebounds. Kentucky still has something to play for — and that urgency changes the calculus.
What Kentucky Must Do
To threaten the SEC champs, Kentucky needs:
- Interior efficiency from Strack without foul trouble
- Disciplined perimeter defense to limit second-chance threes
- Transition control — South Carolina thrives when pace accelerates
If the Wildcats allow South Carolina to dictate tempo, this could mirror the recent trend. But if Kentucky muddies the game, wins the rebounding margin early, and keeps the crowd engaged, tension could build.
And tension in late February matters.
How to Watch South Carolina vs Kentucky
Here’s everything you need to catch the regular-season finale:
- Who: No. 3 South Carolina at No. 16 Kentucky
- When: Sunday, March 1 — 2 p.m. ET
- Where: Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
- TV: SEC Network+
- Streaming: ESPN.com and the ESPN App
- Radio: 107.5 FM (Brad Muller on the call)
The Bigger Picture
South Carolina isn’t playing for a trophy Sunday. That’s already secured.
They’re playing for rhythm. For edge. For continuity heading into March — when possessions tighten and mistakes echo.
Kentucky is playing for positioning and pride.
Two different motivations. One physical battleground.
By the time the final horn sounds inside Memorial Coliseum, we’ll know whether the Gamecocks cruise into the postseason or whether the Wildcats managed to inject doubt into the narrative.
Either way, the South Carolina vs Kentucky women’s basketball regular season finale preview and how to watch story ends the way it began — with momentum, muscle, and March looming just over the horizon.
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