South Carolina Basketball and Dawn Staley Secure No. 1 Seed in SEC Tournament After Winning Coin Flip

In a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, South Carolina women’s basketball earned the No. 1 seed for the 2025 SEC Tournament following a coin flip this Sunday. The Gamecocks (26-3, 15-1 SEC) were tied with Texas (29-2, 15-1) in conference wins, and with no other tiebreaker in place, a coin flip determined the top seed.

The dramatic moment unfolded during halftime of the Ole Miss vs. LSU game, where SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey performed the coin flip. He tossed the coin in the air, caught it, and revealed the Gamecocks’ logo, sealing South Carolina’s spot as the No. 1 seed.

“It was kind of exciting,” coach Dawn Staley remarked shortly after. “The build-up was good. I know when you’re part of the equation, it doesn’t feel good to have your fate in a coin toss and I didn’t know that eight other sports use a coin flip. That was news to me. I feel a little better about it now.”

Earlier in the week, Staley joked about the unusual method of determination, saying, “Imagine if it was football,” referencing the unlikely idea of using a coin flip to decide something as crucial as the No. 1 seed.

South Carolina closed out its regular season with a gritty 78-66 victory over No. 14 Kentucky, finishing with 11 wins over ranked teams and 10 victories against top 20 NET-ranked opponents. This victory marked the Gamecocks’ fourth consecutive regular-season title and the fifth in the last six years, solidifying Staley’s legacy in the conference. Over the years, the team has now claimed nine regular-season titles and has hoisted the SEC Tournament trophy eight times.

As for the SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks will take to the court on Friday, March 7, at noon ET. South Carolina’s potential opponents will emerge from the matchup between No. 9 Tennessee and No. 16 Texas A&M on Wednesday. The winner of that game will then face No. 8 Vanderbilt on Thursday, with the victor advancing to play the Gamecocks.

Here’s the full schedule for the 2025 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament:

Wednesday, March 5:

• Game 1: 9-seed Tennessee vs. 16-seed Texas A&M, 11 a.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 2: 12-seed Georgia vs. 13-seed Arkansas, approx. 1:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 3: 10-seed Mississippi State vs. 15-seed Missouri, 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 4: 11-seed Florida vs. 14-seed Auburn, approx. 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Thursday, March 6:

• Game 5: 8-seed Vanderbilt vs. Game 1 winner, 11 a.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 6: 5-seed Oklahoma vs. Game 2 winner, approx. 1:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 7: 7-seed Ole Miss vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 8: 6-seed Alabama vs. Game 4 winner, approx. 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Friday, March 7:

• Game 9: 1-seed South Carolina vs. Game 5 winner, Noon ET on ESPN
• Game 10: 4-seed Kentucky vs. Game 6 winner, approx. 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Game 11: 2-seed Texas vs. Game 7 winner, 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network
• Game 12: 3-seed LSU vs. Game 8 winner, approx. 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Saturday, March 8:

• Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, approx. 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Sunday, March 9:

• Championship Game: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

The stage is set for what promises to be an exciting tournament, and all eyes will be on South Carolina as they aim for yet another SEC title.