GREENVILLE, SC — The mighty South Carolina Gamecocks have been dethroned.
For the first time in nine tries, Vic Schaefer has beaten Dawn Staley in a postseason game. And for the first time ever, Texas is the SEC Tournament champion. Madison Booker scored 18 to power the Longhorns to a 78-61 victory over the Gamecocks on Sunday in Bon Secours Wellness Arena in front of a crowd of more than 13,000 people.
‘I’ve been in that game a bunch, as maybe some of y’all know,’ Schaefer said. ‘To play that well in that game against that team in this environment, there’s not a lot of words that can describe how special this group is, but they are really special.’
It’s the third conference tournament title for Texas (31-3) under Schaefer, as the Longhorns won the Big 12 Tournament in 2022 and 2024 before leaving for the SEC. The Texas win will also likely move it up to the No. 3 overall seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is unveiled next Sunday. If so, the Longhorns will likely get to play regional games in the second weekend of March Madness in their home state at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena.
‘I’m always a one-game-at-a-time guy. So I’m going to worry like heck over that first round match-up, whoever they send to Austin,’ Schaefer said. ‘Hopefully, we’ll be fortunate enough after that. I’ll go wherever they send me. I’ll take this team to Timbuktu. I don’t care… So it would be cool to, obviously, be able to stay around because of our fans. I think they would really embrace the opportunity to follow us.’
Booker, who was named MVP of the SEC Tournament, also chipped in four rebounds and two assists for the Longhorns and had zero turnovers in 34 minutes.
‘When her shot is going like that, they are a real difficult team to beat,’ Staley said of Booker, who averaged 20 points per game in three games in Greenville. ‘I think we were just playing an uphill battle.’
Texas was also boosted by Justice Carlton’s 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Jordan Lee added 12 points and swished a pair of 3-pointers.
South Carolina was attempting to win its fourth consecutive SEC Tournament, but dug itself in too deep of a hole as the Longhorns opened with a 14-0 run and went on to lead by as much as 19 points. Texas led wire-to-wire in their second win over the Gamecocks this season.
Staley’s team was paced by 13 points from Joyce Edwards and 10 from Maddy McDaniel.
‘It was bad. It was bad on all the starters. We’re supposed to set the tone out there, and we definitely didn’t do that,’ Edwards said of South Carolina’s sluggish first quarter. ‘But it happens. Throughout the whole game, the shots weren’t necessarily falling… We have other goals in mind — national championship. This isn’t the end all be all, so we’re just moving forward.’
South Carolina trimmed the deficit to single digits with an 8-2 run in the second quarter, but Texas responded with a 10-0 run that was capped off by a superb transition 3-pointer from Jordan Lee. From there, Texas was able to hold its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game in a building filled with disappointed Gamecock fans.
The arena — located about 100 miles northwest of South Carolina’s campus — roared whenever the Gamecocks made a play that fans thought might shift the momentum, like when Edwards stuffed Booker’s attempt at the rim late in the third quarter, but the Gamecocks never could put together that game-changing run.
Texas scored 16 points off 14 South Carolina turnovers and scored 11 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.
The defeat for South Carolina also denies veteran point guard Raven Johnson a fourth SEC Championship. She finished with nine points and four assists in her first-ever loss in Greenville.
Halftime: Texas 45, South Carolina 28
Justice Carlton has 13 points as Texas has a comfortable double-digit lead over South Carolina in the SEC Championship at the break on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Gamecocks trailed by 15 points at the end of the first quarter after the Longhorns opened the game on a 14-0 run. South Carolina had a 8-2 run early in the second quarter to trim the deficit to nine points, but Texas punched back with a 10-0 run to push its advantage to 19 points. The scoring surge was capped off by Jordan Lee swishing a transition 3-pointer. Aaliyah Crump had seven points in the second frame.
Texas is shooting a blistering 61% from the floor and has scored 14 points off 10 South Carolina turnovers. The Longhorns are also outscoring the Gamecocks 26-14 in the paint.
First Quarter: Texas 27, South Carolina 12
The Longhorns are out to an early double-digit lead over the Gamecocks at the end of the first quarter behind 13 points from Justice Carlton, who is shooting 6-of-7 from the floor.
Texas opened the game with a 14-0 run before South Carolina coach Dawn Staley called a timeout at the 6:47 mark. Ta’Niya Latson swished a 3-pointer on a Raven Johnson assist out of that break, but couldn’t piece together a meaningful run to dent the Longhorns’ lead.
The Longhorns are shooting 68% from the floor and have scored 10 points off five South Carolina turnovers.
SEC title game bumped to ESPN News
The SEC Championship game between South Carolina and Texas has tipped off on ESPN News because Duke and Louisville are in overtime in the ACC title game in Duluth, Georgia. The clash between the Gamecocks and Longhorns will switch back to ESPN when the ACC game finishes.
Less than four minutes into the game, Texas has a 14-0 lead on 7-of-7 shooting. Justice Carlton has six points. Dawn Staley called a timeout at the 6:47 mark in the first quarter.
South Carolina vs. Texas: starting lineups for SEC Championship
South Carolina Gamecocks starting lineup
Head coach: Dawn Staley
25 Raven Johnson | G 5-9 Senior
00 Ta’Niya Latson | G 5-9 Senior
5 Tessa Johnson | G 6-0 Junior
8 Joyce Edwards | F 6-3 Sophomore
11 Madina Okot | C 6-6 Senior
Texas starting lineup
Head coach: Vic Schaefer
11 Justice Carlton | F 6-1 Sophomore
25 Breya Cunningham | F 6-4 Junior
35 Madison Booker | F 6-1 Junior
7 Jordan Lee | G 6-0 Sophomore
3 Rori Harmon | G 5-6 Senior
What time is South Carolina vs. Texas?
Date: Sunday, March 8
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville)
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks face Vic Schaefer’s Longhorns in the championship game of the SEC Women’s Tournament at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, March 8 in Greenville, South Carolina.
South Carolina vs. Texas : TV, streaming
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+, SlingTV
The game between South Carolina and Texas will air live on ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo on the call. Streaming options for the game include Sling TV.