South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley knows that her girls will have to be at their best to avoid a repetition of what they experienced in their first match against the Texas Longhorns this season.

The Longhorns halted the Gamecocks' victory run by defeating them 66-64 on November 27, 2025. However, Staley's girls refused to stay down and got back to the winning column in the next match. The Gamecocks haven't lost a single game since their defeat against the Longhorns.

Still, Staley realizes that a significant challenge awaits the Gamecocks as they are scheduled to take on the Longhorns next, on January 16. Following her side's 65-43 win over Georgia on January 12, the Gamecocks' head coach warned that scoring "65" wouldn't be enough to defeat Texas.

“You're gonna have to put more than 65 points on the board to defeat Texas [Longhorns], I think."

Staley also said, "Defensively, we did some nice things [against Gerorgia]. All the intangibles went our way. I thought we did a good job of changing our defense up and playing a little bit of zone. I thought we executed that extremely well. We’ve got to have a really solid game on both sides of the ball to beat Texas. It's a big game for us."

The Longhorns may have narrowly bested the Gamecocks in their first meeting, but things are a little different leading up to their second clash.

South Carolina managed a victory over Georgia, despite being sluggish offensively. They shot a mere 38%, despite being second in the SEC at 52.6% from the field. They also hit just two of their 17 three-point attempts.

However, their trademark defense played masterfully. The Lady Bulldogs, who averaged about 78 points per game this season, were limited to their lowest total of the season at 43 points.

Texas, on the other hand, comes in off a loss against LSU. The Longhorns cut a double-digit deficit to three points in the last quarter, but it wasn’t enough. As a result, they fell 70-65 to LSU. Now the Longhorns are 18-1 on the season. But does that mean South Carolina can win?

Deeper Analysis of South Carolina vs. Texas Longhorns

Texas is averaging 91.9 points per game while allowing 53.2 points to opponents. They’re shooting 52% from the field, with 40.1 rebounds and 19.6 steals per game. South Carolina, meanwhile, averages 91.2 points per game on 53% shooting. They allow 53.6 points to opponents.

Clearly, Texas is performing slightly better than South Carolina offensively. But defensively, the Gamecocks are quite ahead. The team is averaging 45.5 rebounds per game and 6.7 blocks. Both of these metrics are higher than Texas’.

Not just that, but USC’s leading scorer, Joyce Edwards, is averaging 21.1 points per game, whereas Texas leader Madison Booker averages 18.9 points. Even ESPN’s matchup predictor has projected USC to win with a 63.7% chance against the Longhorns. Still, what do you think?

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Souvik Roy