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Defector

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Lauren Betts #51 hugs Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins during the second half of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 5, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

College Basketball

Cori Close And UCLA Won At Their Own Speed

David Roth

Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks argues with Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the second half of a NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal game on April 3, 2026.

South Carolina Upset Connecticut, But Not As Much As Dawn Staley Upset Geno Auriemma

Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts with Joyce Edwards #8 in the game against the TCU Horned Frogs during the fourth quarter in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

South Carolina Forgets But Doesn’t Forgive

Head coach Kim Caldwell of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers looks on in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Colonial Life Arena on February 08, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.

Kim Caldwell Is Running Out Of Hard Truths To Deliver

Israel Daramola

A bunch of South Carolina Gamecocks stand around looking dumb and confused as a Texas A&M guy celebrates a touchdown.

College Football

How Not To Football

Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies celebrates during the trophy ceremony after beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 to win the National Championship of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 06, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Azzi Fudd And The Huskies Finally Got Their Crowning Moment

Sarah Strong #21 and Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies react on the bench against the UCLA Bruins during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Sarah Strong Doesn’t Act Her Age

Bree Hall #23 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 30, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks Are Escape Artists

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans is defended by Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies during the second half of an NCAA women's basketball game at the XL Center on December 21, 2024 in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Case For And Against Every Contender In The Women’s Tournament

Jaloni Cambridge #22 of the Ohio State Buckeyes stands on the court during the game against the Cleveland State Vikings at Value City Arena on November 5, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio.

Get Ahead Of The Curve And Watch These Exciting New Freshmen

Leland Smith #12 of the Purdue Boilermakers secures an onside kick late in the second half as Collin Dixon #17 of the Illinois Fighting Illini defends at Memorial Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Champaign, Illinois.

How To Recover An Onside Kick

Kamilla Cardoso #10 of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Sydney Affolter #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes jump for a rebound during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four National Championship game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 7, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio.

South Carolina Is A Perpetual Machine

South Carolina and LSU players fight at the end of the SEC Tournament championship game.

Who In The LSU-South Carolina Scuffle Was Ready To Scrap?

Lauren Theisen

Ashlyn Watkins and Kamilla Cardoso celebrate the South Carolina buzzer beater

Tennessee Never Saw Kamilla Cardoso’s Shot Coming

Kamilla Cardoso #10 of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on during the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Colonial Life Arena on January 28, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina Is Built Different But Winning All The Same

GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 27: Zia Cooke #1 and Brea Beal #12 of the South Carolina Gamecocks celebrate in the closing minutes of their victory over the Maryland Terrapins during the Elite Eight round of the 2023 NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament held at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 27, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina.

South Carolina’s “Freshies” Have One Last Job In Them

Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on during their game against the LSU Tigers at Colonial Life Arena on February 12, 2023 in Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina won 88-64.

South Carolina Beats Everybody Else


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Sir Big Spur in 2008 with a BEAT GEORGIA sticker. He does NOT have a crown

Cock-Up Over Gamecock Means South Carolina Must Rename Its Rooster

Brea Beal and Caroline Ducharme go up for the ball

The Gamecocks Won The Game On The Glass

Laura Wagner

South Carolina Put Their Foot Down

Kentucky’s Magical Run Ended In Lunacy

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Aliyah Boston #4 of the South Carolina Gamecocks celebrates with teammates against the Stanford Cardinal during the second quarter in the Final Four semifinal game of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on April 02, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas.

South Carolina Has The Oomph

Aliyah Boston shoots over Aaliyah Edwards in South Carolina's game against UConn