GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dawn Staley has won eight SEC Tournaments since taking over as head coach at South Carolina in 2008.
She sees winning a ninth as the biggest challenge yet.
To say the SEC is loaded is an understatement. The conference boasts five teams in the top 12 of the most recent AP poll: No. 1 Texas, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 12 Kentucky. In all, seven teams are ranked in the top 25, and that doesn't include 17-time tournament champion Tennessee.
The SEC is so competitive that the Sooners, despite their top-10 ranking, finished fifth in the conference and didn't receive a double bye in the tournament.
"By far, the toughest. ... the toughest," Staley said of this year's level of competition in the SEC Tournament compared to previous seasons.
South Carolina (27-3) will be the No. 1 seed for the fourth straight season after winning a coin flip on Sunday with Texas.
Both teams finished 15-1 in conference play and split the season series with South Carolina winning 67-50 on Jan. 12 in Columbia and the Longhorns responding with a 66-62 victory in Austin on Feb. 9. A highly anticipated rubber match could come Sunday in Greenville -- if both teams are able to make it through the gauntlet that awaits.
The Gamecocks have plenty of big-game experience. They've won four of the last past SEC Tournament titles and two of the last three national championships. But Staley said all of that "goes down the drain" this year given the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference.
"We have two teams that we didn't have to deal with last year and that is Texas and Oklahoma, and that will have an impact on the outcome," Staley said. "They had an impact in the regular season and now (will have an impact on) the tournament."
BOOKER LEADS
Texas (29-2) enters the tournament on a 13-game winning streak and ranked first in the country for the first time in 21 years, a testament to the job Coach Vic Schaefer has done in Austin.
It helps the Longhorns have one of the best players in the country in Madison Booker, who is averaging 16 points, 6.5 points and 1.6 steals per game. With Booker leading the way, Schaefer believes the Longhorns are capable of winning out.
"We have a three-game tournament and a six-game tournament in front of us and the gauntlet that this group's been through, there's not going to be anything that they haven't seen," Schaefer said.
NO JOHNSON
Although the Longhorns were disappointed they didn't win the coin flip, the No. 2 seed might actually give them an easier path to Sunday's championship game.
That's because No. 3 seed LSU (27-4), a potential opponent in the semifinals, will be without star Flau'jae Johnson, who'll miss the conference tournament with a shin injury. Tigers Coach Kim Mulkey said she wants Johnson to get rested for the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers lost 85-77 to unranked Mississippi in the season finale without Johnson.
"I don't feel like anything we do in the conference tournament, even if we lost both games, will affect us hosting here" in the NCAA Tournament, Mulkey said. "We have a great body of work and Flau'jae will be back."
ACC LOOK
Kentucky lured Coach Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech last offseason and it has been a boon for the Wildcats, who finished fourth in the league despite having 11 new players. Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack followed Brooks to Lexington, as did some of his incoming recruits, and the team has a very ACC feel to it.
But the Wildcats (22-6) have adjusted well.
"The beautiful thing about the SEC being stacked is we're part of the stack, and we're excited about that," Brooks said.
Brooks called Amoore, who needs just eight assists to break the school's single-season assist record, "the best point guard in the country." Strack, who had 23 points in Sunday's loss at South Carolina, has taken a huge step forward as a sophomore.
UPWARD TREND
The Sooners (23-6) are on a seven-game win streak, including a 91-84 win over No. 20 Auburn on Sunday, but would need to win four games in four days to capture the tournament. A potential quarterfinal match with Kentucky awaits.
TENNESSEE SHOWDOWN?
Eighth-seeded Vanderbilt (21-9) might not have the deepest team in the SEC, but the Commodores have two women who can really fill it up. Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre are second and fourth in the SEC in scoring, both averaging more than 20 points per game.
A potential second-round matchup with in-state rival Tennessee appears imminent, providing the ninth-seeded Volunteers get by 16 seed Texas A&M. Tennessee (21-8) has struggled down the stretch and will have to play on the first day of the tournament, a shocking development for this once dominant program.
The Vols would have to win five games in five days to win their 18th conference tournament title.
LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson (4) celebrates with her team as they compete agains Texas during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)
LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson (4) is defended by Texas guard Jordan Lee (7) and forward Taylor Jones (44) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, right, passes the ball away from South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, left, goes to the basket past South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts (21) reacts after being charged with a foul during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Auburn in Columbia, S.C., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley directs her team against Florida during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Texas Women's head basketball coach Vic Schaefer flashes the "Hook 'Em Horns" sign while wearing a net cut down after defeating Florida in an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Texas forward Kyla Oldacre, center, shoots against Florida forward Alexia Gassett, right, and guard Laila Reynolds, left, during the second half an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Kentucky's Georgia Amoore, middle, is fouled by Texas' Rori Harmon, right, as Shay Holle, left, defends during an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)