Staley has No. 4 Gamecocks poised for SEC title

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley always knew her fourth-ranked Gamecocks would compete with the very best teams in the country and the Southeastern Conference — just maybe not this year.

Staley said Wednesday she’s surprised at how quickly South Carolina gelled after losing three starters off last year’s 25-win squad that reached the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina (23-2, 11-1 SEC) can inch another step closer to winning the SEC regular-season crown the Gamecocks travel to No. 15 Kentucky (19-6, 7-5) on Thursday night. Defeating the Wildcats would give South Carolina a school-record 24th regular-season win and keep them a game up on Texas A&M in the conference race.

Staley says her players have been focused on each game all year and doesn’t expect that to change down the stretch.