Three months after Coppin State women’s basketball coach Jermaine Woods answered a call from South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, Staley returned the favor.

Staley, a Hall of Fame point guard at Virginia and a six-time WNBA All-Star, confirmed Wednesday that the Gamecocks will travel to Baltimore to play a game against the Eagles at the Physical Education Complex in 2025. A date has not yet been specified, but Woods was thrilled about the No. 1 team and reigning national champion appearing on Coppin State’s home court.

“My phone has been blowing up,” he said Thursday morning before the Eagles (2-1) met South Carolina (2-0) in the latter’s home opener at Colonial Life Arena. “‘When are tickets going on sale? Where can I get tickets?’ It’s been crazy, and that’s a good thing because we want to bring that excitement to Baltimore. People are going to get a chance to see Dawn and her team, but also get a chance to see Coppin State and my young women play as well.“We’re fortunate that they moved some things around for us to play, and we’ll return to them,” Staley said Wednesday during her team’s media availability. “They’re a formidable opponent. They play hard for 40 minutes, they run some great stuff.

“They’re going to come in here ready to rock and roll no matter how many people we have in front of us. We’ve got to play our style of play. We’ve got to prepare like we normally prepare for a game and not take anyone lightly.”

The announcement came on the heels of Woods agreeing to bring Coppin State to Columbia, South Carolina, after Staley went public on social media about seeking an opponent to fill out her team’s 2024-25 schedule.

“Really sorry I have to resort to this but-we need a game,” Staley posted on X on Aug. 9. “I’ve had some nice, funny and outlandish convos regarding scheduling a game H/H with a guarantee and guaranteed a great student-athlete experience – any interest please let me know. Need to finish this schedule”

Four days later, Staley returned to social media to disclose that an unspecified program from a Historically Black College and University had filled the void.

“When going to the peeps here on this app allows you to converse with great people and get options to complete schedules WINNING….we gotta game yall,” she wrote. “Paperwork is not complete but we good for it! I love my HBCUs! Thank you all for reaching out! Love up!”

That program was the Eagles. Woods said he felt compelled to contact Staley after reading her request because Staley and South Carolina hosted Coppin State this past February when the latter was scheduled to play at Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival South Carolina State.

“We stayed in Columbia, and we needed a place to practice,” he said. “So we reached out to her and her people, and they were just so welcoming. They met us at the front door even though this had nothing to do with them. They got us lower-level seats to the game when they played Ole Miss [on Feb. 4]. Then we practiced in their practice facility, and her staff was there to make sure we were good with everything. They treated us like royalty when they didn’t have to do that. That’s how the relationship started.”

South Carolina will bring a certain gravitas to the Physical Education Complex. The school captured NCAA titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024, advanced to three more Final Fours in 2015, 2021 and 2023, and is just the second in NCAA history to string together multiple 40-game winning streaks.

But the Gamecocks won’t be the first reigning national champion to visit Coppin State. The team hosted 2023 titlist LSU on Dec. 20, 2023, in a game that served as a homecoming for star forward Angel Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate who now plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. The 4,100-seat arena on Gwynn Falls Parkway was sold out for the first time in the university’s history.

The Eagles have welcomed opponents from Power Five conferences before. Maryland and Pittsburgh visited in 2021 and 2022, and Arizona State will make a trip on Dec. 5.

But South Carolina is something else, Woods acknowledged.

“These are games where you can get some valuable experience and you can get your young women on the court against national champions and have them compete against national champions so that they know what it feels like,” he said. “So that doesn’t bother me. I think my team is excited about it. It’s just a great opportunity for women’s basketball and Coppin State University.”

Woods said he hopes fans of Coppin State will fill the seats and create a favorable environment for the home team. But he also understands that South Carolina’s appeal is powerful and wide-ranging.

“Women’s basketball fans are genuinely amazing, and South Carolina fans will be there because they follow their team,” he said. “But we’re cool with that. We just want to play as hard as we can and give them a game and compete. We want our fans, our students, the community, everyone to pack the place and show South Carolina what Baltimore has to offer.”

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