South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) shoots against LSU forward Amiya Joyner (1) during the second half of an NCAA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
Special to the State
South Carolina women’s basketball is traveling to Tuscaloosa for its penultimate SEC road game.
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks will play No. 25 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night.
South Carolina is currently on a six-game win streak that includes a big 79-72 road win over LSU last time out. Alabama has its last two games but is still holding on to its Top 25 ranking.
Here are a few things to watch Thursday night:
New Year’s Day rematch
South Carolina and Alabama were home-and-home partners in this year’s SEC schedule. As such, the two teams are set up to play each other in Columbia and Tuscaloosa this year.
The Gamecocks dominated the Crimson Tide in their SEC opener on New Year’s Day in Columbia, winning that game 83-57 in Colonial Life Arena.
That victory was South Carolina’s 24-straight over Alabama. The Gamecocks hold a 34-15 advantage in the all-time series.
Staley has talked before about how South Carolina, historically, has trouble pulling away from the Crimson Tide on the scoreboard in games (especially on the road). The Gamecocks were able to do so in January after a big third quarter. When asked how South Carolina could apply that to Thursday’s game Staley quipped “move the game to CLA.”
“We got Alabama on the road, who plays extremely well at home, and always has, and we always have issues there,” Staley said.
South Carolina has won by an average of 15 points in road games against Alabama.
The magic number is…
South Carolina has four games left in the regular season. The Gamecocks are No. 1 in the SEC with an 11-1 conference record.
That means South Carolina’s magic number is two. Any two wins in the next four games gets the Gamecocks at least a share of the SEC regular season title.
Should that happen, it would be South Carolina’s fifth-straight SEC regular season championship.
Staley sensed a collective exhale after South Carolina gained another important tie-breaker with a win over LSU on Saturday. The message to her players in these final weeks is to not let up and go finish the job.
“Just have to remind them what’s at stake,” Staley said. “You’ve done a pretty good job with winning 11 games in our league thus far… just got to finish it. There’s nothing more gratifying than winning, your hard work produces championships.”
Injury notes
South Carolina will be getting Maddy McDaniel back against Alabama after a two-game absence, Staley told local media Wednesday.
“She practiced so she’s good,” Staley said.
McDaniel, who had a boot on her left foot last week when she missed the game against Tennessee, went through early warmups with South Carolina in their game against LSU and did not wear a boot on the bench.
The jury is still out on Adhel Tac’s availability for Thursday. Tac missed the LSU game and had a boot on her left foot. She was seen wearing a boot on Wednesday at practice.
Staley said Tac has a lower leg injury and is “day to day”.
An official status for Tac will be determined by the SEC’s official injury report released Wednesday night around 8:10 p.m.
How to watch South Carolina vs Alabama
- When: Thursday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m.
- Where: Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL
- TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck)
- Stream: ESPN.com or ESPN app
- Radio: 106.7 FM, SiriusXM Channels 117 or 191 (Brad Muller)
Related Stories from The State in Columbia SC
Michael Sauls is The State’s South Carolina women’s basketball reporter. He previously worked at The Virginian-Pilot covering Norfolk State and Hampton University sports. A Columbia native, he is an alum of the University of South Carolina.
