Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team’s path to a fourth national title is set. 

For the sixth year in a row, the Gamecocks earned one of the four No. 1 seeds. The team has advanced to the final four in each of the previous five seasons, including last season when the team made a run to the national title game. 

South Carolina is in Sacramento Region 4. The team will host the first two rounds before traveling to Sacramento for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, should they advance. 

If the team survives that, they’d earn the right to go to Phoenix, Arizona, for the Final Four and National Championship games. 

To get to Phoenix, the Gamecocks will first have to outlast the other 15 teams in their region. 

South Carolina will play the winner of the first four matchup between Southern and Samford on Saturday. Should the team win, it will have an interesting second-round matchup against either in-state rival Clemson or the other USC, Southern California on Monday. 

The Gamecocks have wins over both Southern California and Clemson from earlier this season. South Carolina beat Clemson 65-37 on Nov. 11 and Southern California 69-52 on Nov. 15.

In the Sweet 16, the Gamecocks would play one of Michigan State, Colorado State, Oklahoma or Idaho.

Iowa is the two seed in the region and will be the favorite to meet the Gamecocks in an Elite Eight matchup. Should South Carolina and Iowa play for the region championship, it will be the third NCAA tournament meeting between the two teams in the past four seasons. 

The Hawkeyes eliminated Aliyah Boston and the Gamecocks in the 2023 Final Four in Dallas. South Carolina got its lick back the following season, beating Iowa in the 2024 National Championship game, sending phenom Caitlin Clark to the WNBA ringless. 

Other teams from the region that could advance to the Elite Eight include the three-seed TCU, six-seed Washington and seven-seed Georgia.

UConn, UCLA and Texas are the other three one seeds and will be favorites to advance to Phoenix. 

The Final Four and National Championship games will be played on April 3 and 5 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.