CLEMSON, S.C. — Another victory, another milestone for the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team.
The top-ranked Gamecocks won their program-record 43rd straight game when they beat in-state nonconference rival Clemson on Wednesday, 77-45, surpassing the old streak that began in the 2022 NCAA Division I tournament and continued through the next season’s Final Four.
“Program record? Wow,” joked Te-Hina Paopao, who scored 13 points to lead her team against the Tigers, who entered 3-0.
“No, it feels great,” said Paopao, who joined the Gamecocks as a transfer from Oregon before last year’s 38-0 national title run. “We’ve just got to take one game at a time. You know that every team is going to bring their best, day in and day out, so we’ve just got to be a team that does not listen to the outside noises.”
Right now, the talk is all about the reigning national champions making it two in row.
The Southeastern Conference’s Gamecocks have started 5-0, including a season-opening win over Big Ten opponent Michigan in Las Vegas and a victory a few days later against Atlantic Coast Conference member N.C. State — a rematch from last season’s nationals semifinals — when the Wolfpack were ranked ninth.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley does not spend too much time thinking about the record run, although she was proud that her team followed up a 42-game winning streak before losing with their current run of victories.
In all, Staley’s team has won 85 of its past 86 games, with the lone loss coming to Iowa and star guard Caitlin Clark, 77-73, in a memorable national semifinal at the 2023 Final Four.
“But to have two of them, it’s pretty special,” Staley said. “It means our players make a commitment to the team, they make a commitment to us (coaches), they make a commitment to each other, and when you do it that way, you have this type of historical moment that you appreciate.”
Staley also said she and her players’ focus is on what’s ahead, and it’s a very daunting stretch of games that starts with South Carolina visiting No. 5 UCLA (4-0) on Sunday. There are games with No. 8 Iowa State, No. 14 Duke and No. 19 TCU within the next three weeks.
“We’re in the middle of the season, and we go on the road and play one of the biggest games of our season in a few days,” Staley said before referencing the “24-hour rule” regarding how long the Gamecocks will dwell on their latest accomplishment.
“We’ll enjoy it, then we’ve got to move on,” she said.
The Gamecocks have already had a couple of milestone moments early this season. They set a program record with their 60th win in a row at home — a run that started in December 2020 — and extended that streak to 61 straight with last Sunday’s 95-44 win over East Carolina.
South Carolina’s latest win against Clemson was its 14th straight in the Palmetto State series between the SEC’s Gamecocks and the ACC’s Tigers.
Gamecocks senior Bree Hall, already a two-time national champ, is proud of what her team accomplished. She acknowledged how big of a moment breaking the old mark was, but she is locked into the accomplishments to come.
“It’s great,” Hall said. “But I feel like it’s the same thing we said last year: We don’t focus on that; we focus on the next game.”