South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Under current head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks have been one of the top programs in the country, winning the NCAA Championship in 2017 and 2022. The program also enjoyed success under head coach Nancy Wilson during the 1980s in the Metro Conference, when it won five regular season conference championships and three conference tournament championships. History The Gamecocks first competed at an intercollegiate level in women's basketball in 1923, when they were called the Pullets (a young domestic hen, a play off "Gamecocks," which is a rooster). The modern era of South Carolina women's basketball began when the Carolina Chicks took to the court in January 1974 under the guidance of Pam Backhaus. The inaugural team compiled a record of 15–7 and were the South Carolina AIAW champions. In 1977, with Pam Parsons as the head coach the women's basketball team, they changed their nickname to the Lady Gamecocks and made post-season trips every year during her four-year tenure.