FILE – Texas forward Madison Booker during the first half of a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against UCLA at the Final Four, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix.
FILE – South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament, March 8, 2026, in Greenville, S.C.
FILE – Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) plays in the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Illinois, March 23, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.
FILE – Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph, right, talks to guard Mikayla Blakes, center, and others during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., March 1, 2026.
FILE – Texas forward Madison Booker during the first half of a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against UCLA at the Final Four, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
FILE – Texas forward Madison Booker during the first half of a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against UCLA at the Final Four, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
FILE – South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament, March 8, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
FILE – Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) plays in the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Illinois, March 23, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
FILE – Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph, right, talks to guard Mikayla Blakes, center, and others during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley doesn’t think her team needs to change much from a physical standpoint this season after getting blown out the last two years in the national championship game.
She knows the Gamecocks, who enter the season ranked No. 1 in the country, have more than enough talent to win a fourth national title.
Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Your comment has been submitted.
Reported
There was a problem reporting this.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Account processing issue – the email address may already exist
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.
