COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has secured the No. 1 seed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) women’s basketball tournament following a coin flip that took place on Sunday. The Gamecocks, ranked sixth nationally, tied with the top-ranked Texas team, both concluding their conference seasons with identical 15-1 records. They had split their regular season matchups, necessitating a coin flip to resolve the seeding for the tournament set to commence on Wednesday in Greenville.
During halftime of the LSU versus Mississippi game, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey flipped the coin from Birmingham, Alabama, with the event being broadcast live on the SEC Network. The outcome prompted enthusiastic cheers from the South Carolina locker room.
“We watched in the locker room and it was kind of exciting,” expressed South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “It’s not comfortable having your fate decided by a coin flip, but learning that eight other sports use the same method makes it easier to accept.”
Meanwhile, players from Texas were tuned in from their home court after a commanding victory over Florida. “We can’t control the way the coin landed. It is what it is,” commented Texas center Taylor Jones. “We’ll be ready for any team we face.”
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer showed some skepticism regarding Sankey’s report of practicing for two hours before the flip. “What was he practicing for? For South Carolina or Texas to come up heads?” Schaefer pondered. “Why would you need to practice for two hours? What’s the purpose?”
This marks the ninth occasion in the past twelve SEC tournaments that South Carolina has been the top seed. The Gamecocks will benefit from playing the opening game on Friday at noon EST, allowing them more rest before the semifinals, unlike Texas, which plays six hours later. Nonetheless, Texas may have a relatively smoother journey to the final stage.
Third-seeded LSU, which could potentially face Texas in the semifinals, will be disadvantaged without their star player Flau’jae Johnson, who will miss the tournament due to a shin injury. Johnson has been averaging a team-leading 18.9 points per game.
