South Carolina and Tennessee are two of the preeminent programs in women’s college basketball.
The Lady Vols are one of the sport’s historic titans, with eight NCAA championships and some of the game’s most iconic figures to their name. Under coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks are the modern-day juggernaut, with three titles in the past seven NCAA tournaments, including two of the last three.
Watch South Carolina women’s basketball vs. Tennessee live with Fubo (free trial)
This week, they’ll take the court to face off against one another.
South Carolina will put its undefeated SEC record on the line Monday night when it travels to Tennessee in a matchup of ranked teams.
The No. 2 Gamecocks have largely picked up where they left off from their championship-winning 2023-24 season, with a 19-1 record heading into the game against the Lady Vols. Since a Nov. 24 loss at No. 2 UCLA, South Carolina has won 14 consecutive games, including seven wins in SEC play that have been decided by an average of 26.4 points. That run was capped off last Friday by a 66-56 victory against No. 4 LSU in front of a raucous home crowd at Colonial Life Arena.
Whether it can continue that run against an improved Tennessee program remains to be seen.
Over the past decade, the Lady Vols have dipped from the championship heights they reached under the legendary Pat Summitt. This season, though, there has been a renewed sense of hope under first-year head coach Kim Caldwell, who led Tennessee to a 13-0 start behind a fast-paced, high-scoring offense. Things have been more difficult lately, though, with four losses in the past six games. Caldwell, who missed a loss at Texas last Thursday after giving birth to a son three days earlier, said she plans on coaching against South Carolina.
Follow along here for the live score, updates, highlights, how to watch and more from South Carolina women’s basketball’s game at Tennessee:
| TEAMS | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
| South Carolina | 13 | 22 | 22 | 13 | 70 |
| Tennessee | 14 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 63 |
South Carolina withstands the late charge from Tennessee and notches a 70-63 victory on the road against the Lady Vols. The Gamecocks move to 20-1 on the season and extend their SEC regular-season win streak to 55 games. Tennessee, meanwhile, falls to 15-5 and suffers its fifth loss in the past seven games.
Five South Carolina players finish in double figures, led by 18 points from Joyce Edwards.
It’s not quite over yet in Knoxville. A Ruby Whitehorn drive and layup gets the Lady Vols within nine, 69-60, with 1:12 left. Likely too little, too late for Tennessee, but it’s had a ton of success getting to the basket and forcing South Carolina turnovers by using a full-court press. Gamecocks have looked uncomfortable for most of the fourth quarter.
Worth noting that Tennessee needs three more fouls to send South Carolina into the bonus.
South Carolina still has a comfortable lead, but it’s a little less comfortable than it was a few minutes ago. Tennessee is on a 10-2 run, getting it within 14 with 5:58 remaining and has made four of its past five shots. Much of the Lady Vols’ success this quarter has come from driving to the basket, with most of their points coming at the rim. The crowd at the Food City Center’s getting into it, too.
Two of those points came on a layup from Tess Darby off a beautiful three-quarters court pass from Samara Spencer, who showed some excellent awareness after collecting a defensive rebound.
The Lady Vols are going to need every basket they can to get back into their game against South Carolina and just missed out on an opportunity for two points. Tennessee got out into transition after a defensive rebound and Whitehorn had an open path to the basket, but the ball rolled off her fingers after the buzzer had already sounded.
It’ll be 57-39 South Carolina heading into the fourth quarter.
After trailing by nine at halftime, the Lady Vols have fallen further behind South Carolina in the third quarter, with the Gamecocks now holding a 52-34 lead. One big shortcoming for Tennessee — outside shooting. In coach Kim Caldwell’s 3-point-heavy offense, the Lady Vols have missed 18 of their 20s tonight.
The Gamecocks pick up right where they left off from the second quarter, scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the third quarter to extend their lead to 17, 45-28. Since falling behind 14-5 in the first quarter, South Carolina has outscored Tennessee by a 40-14 margin.
Chloe Kitts has been the catalyst so far this quarter, with six of her team’s 10 points.
Here’s a look at some of the key stats at halftime, with South Carolina leading Tennessee 35-26:
- Field goal percentage: South Carolina 50%, Tennessee 24%
- 3-point percentage: South Carolina 43%, Tennessee 18%
- Turnovers: South Carolina 9, Tennessee 8
- Rebounds: Tennessee 23, South Carolina 21
- Offensive rebounds: Tennessee 8, South Carolina 2
- Second-chance points: South Carolina 2, Tennessee 2
- Bench points: South Carolina 23, Tennessee 1
- Fast-break points: South Carolina 14, Tennessee 4
- Points in the paint: South Carolina 20, Tennessee 12
A dominant second quarter, one in which it outscored Tennessee 22-12, gives South Carolina a 35-26 halftime lead. Gamecocks forward Joyce Edwards leads all players with 11 points and five rebounds. Wild to think she’s just a freshman, which Dawn Staley undoubtedly loves and no other coach in the SEC does.
It was a rough shooting quarter for the Lady Vols, who made just four of their 16 shots. South Carolina, conversely, went nine of 15.
A Lady Vols team that took early control of the game spent much of the second quarter languishing offensively. A made free throw from Jillian Hollingshead snapped a scoreless drought of 4:36 for Tennessee. During that time, South Carolina scored 14 unanswered points, giving it an 11-point lead.
The Gamecocks have not only dug out of their early hole entirely, but come out on the other end of it. MiLaysia Fulwiley is left wide open in the corner in front of the Tennessee bench twice in a handful of possessions and makes the Lady Vols pay on both occasions, draining 3-pointers that have keyed a 7-0 run.
South Carolina is out to a 24-20 lead with 4:46 remaining in the first half. The Lady Vols have missed their last four shots and haven’t scored in 2:04.
Just when the Gamecocks were starting to look disoriented, coach Dawn Staley’s team responds. South Carolina fell behind by as may as nine, but it ends the first quarter with eight unanswered points. Four of those came from freshman Joyce Edwards, who has a game-high six points.
A sloppy first quarter on the whole, with both teams turning it over four times. Tennessee already has six offensive rebounds, but hasn’t been able to take advantage, with no second-chance points. The Lady Vols made just five of their 22 shots in the opening 10 minutes. Will not being able to adequately capitalize on South Carolina’s early woes come back to bite Kim Caldwell’s squad?
Samara Spencer couldn’t quite shake a South Carolina defender with a series of up-fakes, but she’s able to draw contact and throw up an acrobatic shot that goes in. With the ensuing free throw, the Lady Vols are up 12-5 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks, riding a 54-game regular-season SEC win streak, have fallen behind early, trailing Tennessee 9-5 at the media timeout in the first quarter. They’ve made just two of their eight shots, though the Lady Vols haven’t been that much better, making just three of their nine attempts.
Pregame
Here are the starting lineups for both South Carolina and Tennessee, according to the StatBroadcast feed:
South Carolina
- G Te-Hina Paopao
- G Raven Johnson
- G Bree Hall
- F Chloe Kitts
- F Sania Feagin
Tennessee
- G Ruby Whitehorn
- G Samara Spencer
- G Talaysia Cooper
- F Zee Spearman
- F Alyssa Latham
Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell is back on the sideline for the Lady Vols exactly one week after giving birth to her first child, Conor. She missed just one game, an 80-76 loss last Thursday at No. 7 Texas.
South Carolina vs Tennessee time today
- Date: Monday, Jan. 27
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
What channel is South Carolina vs Tennessee women’s basketball on today?
- TV channel: ESPN2
- Streaming: ESPN App | Fubo (free trial)
- Radio: Sirius/XM Channel 106 or 190
South Carolina’s women’s basketball game against Tennessee will air on ESPN2 on Monday. Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) will be on the call. Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app and Fubo, the last of which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
South Carolina women’s basketball vs Tennessee history
- Series record: Tennessee leads 51-16
- South Carolina’s last win: 2024 (W, 74-73)
- Tennessee’s last win: 2021 (W, 75-67)
South Carolina vs Tennessee predictions
Here is how Lulu Kesin of The Greenville News predicts the game to play out:
Lulu Kesin, The Greenville News: South Carolina 95, Tennessee 83
The Lady Vols score at a high clip but the Gamecocks’ discipline and defensive effort is too strong of a wall to break through.
Here is how Cora Hall of the Knoxville News-Sentinel believes the game will go:
Cora Hall, Knoxville News-Sentinel: South Carolina 79, Tennessee 72
The Lady Vols will be competitive, but they haven’t shown yet that they can get across the finish line against great teams. Tennessee will give South Carolina a run for its money, but the Gamecocks’ depth will be too much to overcome.
South Carolina vs Tennessee betting odds
Odds according to BetMGM.
- Spread: South Carolina (-11.5)
- Over/under: 156.5 points
- Moneyline: South Carolina, -700 | Tennessee, +500
South Carolina women’s basketball vs Tennessee injury updates
This section, which will be updated, is based on the SEC women’s basketball availability report.
South Carolina
- F Ashlyn Watkins (out, torn ACL)
Tennessee
- G Kaiya Wynn (out, torn Achilles)
South Carolina women’s basketball schedule 2024-25
Here’s a look at the Gamecocks’ past five games and their upcoming matchup. To view their full 2024-25 schedule, click here.
- Thursday, Jan. 9: vs. Texas A&M (W, 90-49)
- Sunday, Jan. 12: vs. No. 6 Texas (W, 67-50)
- Thursday, Jan. 16: at No. 19 Alabama (W, 76-58)
- Sunday, Jan. 19: vs. No. 13 Oklahoma (W, 101-60)
- Friday, Jan. 24: vs. No. 4 LSU (W, 66-56)
- Monday, Jan. 27: at No. 17 Tennessee
Tennessee women’s basketball schedule 2024-25
Here’s a look at the Lady Vols’ past five games and their upcoming matchup. To view their full 2024-25 schedule, click here.
- Thursday, Jan. 9: vs. No. 4 LSU (L, 89-87)
- Sunday, Jan. 12: at Arkansas (W, 93-63)
- Thursday, Jan. 16: vs. Mississippi State (W, 86-73)
- Sunday, Jan. 19: at Vanderbilt (L, 71-70)
- Thursday, Jan. 23: at No. 7 Texas (L, 80-76)
- Monday, Jan. 27: vs. No. 2 South Carolina
South Carolina women’s basketball news
Tennessee women’s basketball news
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