The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team had a lot of question marks heading into the 2025-26 season.
While Dawn Staley’s squads are always among a few favorites to win the national championship each year, the fact that they lose three key players to the 2025 WNBA Draft (Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, and Sania Feagin), along with standout guard MiLaysia Fulwiley transferring to LSU after last season ended, made it so the team’s roster looked much different than it did when the team lost to the UConn Huskies in the 2025 NCAA championship game.
Not to mention that standout forwards Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins will be missing the entire 2025-26 campaign because of torn ACLs, which forced younger, less experienced players to step into bigger roles. While Staley retooled her roster by adding great freshman recruits, along with TaNiya Latson, who led the NCAA in scoring with Florida State last season, many were interested to see how the Gamecocks would fare when they played a top team this year.
Nov 23, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Ta’Niya Latson (00) drives past Queens Royals guard Jermany Mapp (3) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
South Carolina passed its first real test by beating the USC Trojans 69-52 on November 15. But their first significant SEC Conference showdown came against the No. 4-ranked Texas Longhorns on November 27.
And the Gamecocks came up short, losing on a last-second basket by Texas guard Rori Harmon to produce a 66-64 win for the Longhorns.
Dawn Staley Gets Honest About First Loss of 2025-26 Season
Staley spoke with the media after her team’s loss and addressed her sentiment about South Carolina coming up short.
“This was a great game, great SEC game, for us to learn what we need to do in order for us to win games like this. I’m not upset at all at this game,” Staley said, per an article from Griffin Goodwyn of On3 Sports.
“This is going to help us because there are a lot of things to unpack in it. We played some players that needed to get experience in big-time games. And then, I think we found someone that could,” she added. “We’re a little more comfortable with putting Adhel Tac in the game. She gave us valuable minutes. I like her energy and effort out there, and I like her rebounding.”
“I am not upset at all” – Dawn Staley following #2 South Carolina’s loss to #4 Texas
Says she feels there was a lot to learn from and this was a great SEC game all around @NoCapSpaceWBB
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) November 28, 2025
There’s no question Staley has plenty of time to get this team where they need to be, and one regular season loss is never anything to scoff at.
The Gamecocks will get a chance to rebound from this loss against the Louisville Cardinals on December 4.
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