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The Gamecocks women’s basketball team won’t be seeing much of home the rest of the season — which is a good thing.
USC (20-7, 9-5) heads to Lexington, Ky., Thursday to play No. 13 Kentucky before one final home game Sunday against Arkansas in the SEC regular-season finale.
Then it’s off to Nashville for the SEC tournament next week and an expected trip to the NCAAs the week after that.
“The SEC tournament is on the road. The NCAA tournament is on the road,” South Carolina head Dawn Staley said. “We have to take care of the road. And we have been a pretty good road team so far.”
The Gamecocks are 8-4 in true road games — 9-4 adding their victory over North Carolina in Myrtle Beach. The big wins include snapping Vanderbilt’s season-long home winning streak and beating Tennessee for the first time in Knoxville.
“This team has done some pretty tremendous things on the road,” Staley said. “We have something to draw on and take that down to Lexington.”
Winning at Kentucky would give South Carolina five SEC road wins for the first time and the most road win in 24 years. The Wildcats are undefeated at home this season.
The Gamecocks hung close to the Wildcats (22-5, 11-3) in a physical game last month at Colonial Life Arena before succumbing 66-58 to Kentucky’s pressure defense that forced USC into a season-high 29 turnovers.
South Carolina will be without forward Aleighsa Welch, the team’s leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer, who will miss the game with a knee strain.
While USC appears safe for an NCAA bid, the team has had a tough time staying in the rankings.
The Gamecocks fell out of the Top 25 after a short stay this week — the second time that’s happened this season.
“For us, it seems like a jinx,” Staley said. “On the whole scheme of things, our play has to speak for itself.”
And for those long trips ahead, Staley sees pluses.
“There are less distractions on the road,” she said. “There’s more focus on the road.”
