South Carolina locks up top seed in NCAA Women’s Tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s quest for a third national title begins this week.

The Gamecocks were selected Sunday the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed for the third year in a row after completing another undefeated season and SEC Tournament championship run.

USC will play its first game at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia versus a to-be-determined No. 16 seed. South Carolina will face the winner of First Four participants Sacred Heart and Presbyterian, who’ll compete at Colonial Life Arena to earn the 16-seed spot.

The other two teams competing in Columbia are No. 8 seed North Carolina and No. 9 seed Michigan State. The winner of that game will play the winner of South Carolina vs. the 16 seed.

TV channels and game dates were not immediately known.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and the rest of the Gamecocks watched the Selection Sunday reveal show surrounded by USC fans at Colonial Life Arena.

The Gamecocks will play in the Albany 1 (New York) Region, as the NCAA Tournament’s two-site format continues for a second straight year. The other regional pod is in Portland, Oregon.

The top seeds in the Albany 1 Region are No. 1 South Carolina (top overall), No. 2 Notre Dame (which USC beat by 29 in the season opener in Paris), No. 3 Oregon State and No. 4 Indiana.

South Carolina is one of four No. 1 seeds, joined by Iowa, Southern Cal and Texas.

Should the Gamecocks advance, they’ll head to MVP Arena in Albany for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. Those rounds will take place from March 29-April 1.

The Final Four and national championship game will be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The national semifinals are scheduled for April 5, and the championship is scheduled for April 7.

The Gamecocks finished the regular season 29-0, the best record in program history. Now 32-0, USC has the potential to become the 10th women’s basketball team in the NCAA era to finish the season as the undefeated champion.