South Carolina women's Final Four appearances: Looking at Gamecocks' journey in the NCAA Tournament

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are heading back to the Final Four. It's hard to believe now, but before Staley was hired in 2008, the Gamecocks were nothing special in women's hoops history. They had three Sweet 16s, a single Elite Eight and no Final Fours.

But in the last decade, South Carolina has reached six Final Fours, including the last four in a row. That includes a pair of NCAA titles. From humble beginnings, Staley has lifted the team into a current rendition of the UT or UConn dynasties.

South Carolina women's Final Four appearances by year

South Carolina is headed to the program's sixth Final Four, all under Dawn Staley.

The Gamecocks' first Final Four appearance came in 2015. The top-seeded Gamecocks edged through the regional, besting North Carolina by two and Florida State by six. But in the semifinals, South Carolina fell to top-seeded Notre Dame, 66-65.

South Carolina won the NCAA title in 2017 and 2022. They also reached the Final Four in 2021. South Carolina was a No. 1 seed and rolled to the Final Four, winning each game by 11 points or more, including a regional final win by 28 points. But in the 2021 Final Four, they fell to top-seed Stanford, 66-65.

After the 2022 title, Carolina had a chance to make history in 2023. The top-ranked Gamecocks were undefeated on the season and won their Tournament games by 32, 31, 16 and 11 points. But in the Final Four, Caitlin Clark and Iowa upset Carolina, ruining a perfect season in a 77-73 loss.

When did South Carolina women's basketball win the national championship?

As noted above, Carolina has won the NCAA crown in 2017 and 2022. In 2017, the 27-4 Gamecocks were a No. 1 seed. Between easy wins in the first round and Sweet 16, Carolina had a tough second-round win, 71-68 over No. 8 seed Arizona State. After a seven-point Elite Eight win over Florida State, Carolina stopped Stanford 62-53 and beat Mississippi State 67-55 to win the crown.

In 2022, South Carolina was 29-2 and easily nabbed a No. 1 seed. The Gamecocks made it look easy, winning by 58, 16, eight, 30, 13 and 15 points. That Sweet 16 game with No. 5 seed North Carolina, a 69-61 win, was USC's only close call. They bested No. 2 seed UConn 64-49 to claim the school's second NCAA title.

It's worth noting that the Gamecocks were 32-1 in 2020 when COVID-19 forced an end to the season. South Carolina was ranked No.1 nationally at the time of the cancellation of the remainder of the season.

How long has South Carolina women's basketball been undefeated?

South Carolina's 2023 loss to Iowa was their last defeat. Before that, they had won 42 games in a row, dating back to an SEC Tournament loss to Kentucky in 2022. The current Gamecock team is 36-0 and lacks only two wins for the school's first perfect season.

The 79-75 win over Indiana in the Sweet 16 is among the few close calls for the Gamecocks. In the SEC Tournament, South Carolina won the title 79-72 over LSU after escaping a semifinal upset bid from Tennessee. Kamilla Cardoso hit her first 3-point shot of the season to beat the buzzer and claim a 74-73 victory. The closest regular season game was a 76-70 win at LSU.

Most Final Four appearances by a team

With their sixth Final Four appearance, the Gamecocks are climbing toward the top of that list. With 22 Final Four appearances, UConn remains the current leader in that category. The Huskies will play tomorrow against USC for a 23rd trip to the Final Four.

Tennessee has the second-most Final Four appearances (18) but hasn't been there since 2008. The other schools with the most Final Four appearances are Stanford (15), Louisiana Tech (10) and Notre Dame (9).