No. 1 seed South Carolina chasing perfection

Dawn Staley and South Carolina could see some familiar faces on their path to a potential undefeated season.

The Gamecocks, the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament, are looking to become the 10th women’s basketball team to go unbeaten for an entire season.

They had a chance last season before falling just short against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four; the Hawkeyes received the other No. 1 seed in the Albany regional. Those teams can’t meet this time unless it’s for the national championship. Iowa is a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1992.

USC and star freshman JuJu Watkins earned the Trojans’ first No. 1 seed since 1986 as the top choice in the Portland regional.

Texas earned the other top seed, its first since 2004, and will play Drexel in the other Portland opener. There was debate whether Texas or Stanford would get the fourth No. 1.

“To say we talked about it more than once was an understatement,” said NCAA selection committee chair Lisa Peterson. “What it came down to was, Texas had to play three tournament teams to get to the (Big 12) championship.”

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s squad has been challenged a few times this year, including needing a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Kamilla Cardoso to win in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament over Tennessee, but has always pulled through. The Gamecocks, a No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive year, will play the winner between Sacred Heart and Presbyterian in the first round.

“I always feel good to be the No. 1 overall seed and to be undefeated,” Staley said. “I’m excited because we get a chance to know what our path is to win the national championship and, all great teams, a lot of familiar faces that are in our region. But we have to take it one game at a time and that’s what we’ll do on Friday.”

Cardoso will miss the opening game after getting ejected for fighting in the SEC title game. The Gamecocks would have her back for a potential second-round matchup against North Carolina or Michigan State. South Carolina beat the Tar Heels earlier in the season.

Joining the Gamecocks in the Albany regional are No. 2 seed Notre Dame, third-seeded Oregon State and fourth-seeded Indiana.