South Carolina enters the women’s NCAA Tournament as the favorite to win its second national championship under Dawn Staley.

The Gamecocks (29-2, 15-1 SEC) were awarded the No. 1 overall seed in The Big Dance on Selection Sunday and are seeking a trip to their third Final Four under Staley’s guidance.

South Carolina will be facing the play-in game winner of No. 16 seed Howard vs. No. 16 seed Incarnate Word on Friday in Columbia.

The Gamecocks – the No. 1-ranked team in the AP – were locked into a No. 1 seed heading into the SEC Tournament but opened the door to lose out on the top overall seed in the field following Sunday’s loss to Kentucky in the conference tournament title game.

South Carolina, though, boasts the fewest losses in the country, the No. 1 NET ranking, No. 1 strength of schedule and own wins over two of the tournament’s other projected No. 1 seeds (Stanford, NC State).

The selection committee determined that the Gamecocks’ résumé was the best in America, and now their march through March commences later this week.And in nabbing the top overall seed, Staley and her team accomplished exactly what they set out to do in the preseason.

“We want to be the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament,” Staley said prior to the season. “Just so we are putting ourselves in the best chance of winning the championship, and the way you do that is in November and December.”

If South Carolina wins in the first round, it will square off with the winner of No. 8 Miami and No. 9 South Florida.

The other top seeds in South Carolina’s region are No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Iowa State and No. 4 Arizona.