Defending national champion South Carolina sells out of season tickets

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina already is on the way to leading women’s college basketball in average attendance for an 11th straight season.

The defending national champion Gamecocks have sold out their allotment of season tickets, a program-record 13,046 at 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena.

The school said the rest of the available seats would be sold on a single-game basis.

South Carolina averaged 16,067 people for its home games during its 38-0, national title season. Iowa, led by NCAA all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark, was second with 14,914 fans per game.

The Gamecocks have led the NCAA in average attendance for women’s games since 2015. They have won three national titles and eight Southeastern Conference tournament titles in that span.

“When I first came to South Carolina, I didn’t really imagine what the fanbase would look like,” coach Dawn Staley said in a statement, “but what the people in this community, this state, have done to uplift our program is beyond my wildest dreams.”