COLUMBIA, S.C. — (AP) — South Carolina will be the No. 1 seed in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament after winning a coin flip on Sunday.
The sixth-ranked Gamecocks and top-ranked Texas both finished 15-1 in conference play. They split their season series, leading to a coin flip to determine the top seed for the tournament, which begins Wednesday in Greenville.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey flipped a coin from Birmingham, Alabama, during halftime of LSU’s game against Mississippi to determine the top seed. The flip was broadcast live on the SEC Network, and a loud cheer could be heard from the South Carolina locker room immediately afterward.
“We watched in the locker room and it was kind of exciting,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I know when you're part of the equation it doesn't feel good to have your fate in a coin flip. I didn't know eight other sports use a coin flip. That was news to me. I feel better about it now.”
Texas players watched from their home floor after a blowout win over Florida.
“We can’t control the way the coin landed. It is what it is," center Taylor Jones said. "Whatever team we play, we played before.”
Texas coach Vic Schaefer questioned Sankey's assertion that he practiced for two hours ahead of the coin flip.
“So what was he practicing? Was he practicing for South Carolina to be heads up or Texas to be heads up?” Schaefer said. "I mean, why do you have to practice for two hours? What are you trying to get accomplished?”
This is the ninth time in the past 12 tournaments the Gamecocks have been the No. 1 seed.
South Carolina has the advantage of playing the early game on Friday at noon EST, which gives the team more rest before the semifinals than Texas, which tips off six hours later.
However, the Longhorns potentially have the easier path to the final.
Third-seeded LSU, which a potential foe for Texas in the semifinals if both teams win their first two games, will be without star Flau’jae Johnson for the tournament with a shin injury. Johnson is averaging a team-high 18.9 points per game.
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AP freelance reporter Mark Rosner in Texas contributed to this report.
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