No. 2 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas are facing off in the inaugural women’s basketball Players Era championship game on Thursday. The game is a rematch from the 2025 Final Four. Later on Thanksgiving, No. 3 UCLA and Duke will battle it out in the third-place game.

Texas earned its spot with a 76-65 win against UCLA on Wednesday. The Longhorns were missing Aaliyah Crump and Bryanna Preston due to injury, but they still got their biggest win of the season so far. Their defense was visibly disrupting for the Bruins, who ended the night with 20 turnovers. Rori Harmon led Texas’ offense with 26 points, and her overall performance led coach Vic Schaefer to say this game showed why she is “the best point guard in the country.”

South Carolina picked up a 83-66 win against Duke, a team that is currently out of the AP Top 25 but was ranked in the top 10 during preseason. The Blue Devils kept it close early in the game, but South Carolina got the job done with Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot scoring a combined 45 points. Okot also completed a double-double with 13 rebounds. 

Just like in the men’s tournament, which expanded to 18 teams this year, each participating is set to receive $1 million in NIL money. The players get all the money, which means each of them will receive around $75,000. Other than the money, the elite lineup is a great opportunity for the teams to test themselves against top competition early in the season. Founders of the event also believe this is an opportunity to get a brighter spotlight on college basketball during the fall.

“College basketball has always started in November. But let’s give it more,” Players Era co-founder Seth Berger told CBS Sports. “Let’s give everyone a reason to watch, not just the most hardcore of the fans. So first and foremost, I thought there was an opportunity to create a great American sporting event, a tentpole event in November.” 

Women’s Player Era schedule, scores

All times are Eastern

Wednesday, Nov. 26No. 4 Texas 76, No. 3 UCLA 65
No. 2 South Carolina 83, Duke 66
Thursday, Nov. 27No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Texas (Championship game) | 8 p.m. | TruTV/HBO MaxDuke vs. No. 3 UCLA (Third-place game) | 10:30 p.m. | TruTV/HBO Max
Texas vs. South Carolina prediction

These are two teams that pride themselves on defense, so I think this game will come down to who can find, and keep, momentum on offense. While both programs worked on getting stronger in this area during the summer and added valuable weapons, Texas probably had the most dramatic improvement since their Final Four meeting (a 17-point South Carolina win). The Longhorns made six 3-pointers against UCLA, which is not a particularly high number, but they did it without Aaliyah Crump and this was also not at all their forte last season. I like the overall potential we are seeing from Texas, especially with how quickly they adjusted with injuries ahead of this tournament. Although this is not an easy decision because South Carolina is always a dangerous opponent, the Longhorns already made a statement in Las Vegas with how they handled a very good UCLA team. Pick: Texas