BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — The University of South Carolina Beaufort Women's Basketball team finished the 2025–26 season with the best finish in program history.

USCB Women's Basketball enjoyed its most successful season in program history, highlighted by numerous accomplishments and high rankings across a variety of statistical categories.

Season highlights for the Sand Sharks included finishing among the top five teams in the conference in several statistical categories. Averaging 72 points per game, USCB ranked third in the conference in scoring. The Sand Sharks also led the conference with a 45.7 percent field goal percentage during the 2025–26 season. USCB excelled at sharing the basketball and limiting turnovers, ranking third in assist-to-turnover ratio and third in the conference with 13.5 assists per game.

Following a season in which the Sand Sharks were on the verge of earning a berth in the national tournament, the team rose as high as No. 8 in the regional rankings, the highest ranking in program history. Nationally, USCB ranked third in free-throw rate and was among the top 20 teams in the category. The Sand Sharks also ranked 13th in points scored inside the arc and 49th nationally in three-point defense.

In addition to the team's accomplishments, several players reached significant individual milestones. USCB was the only team in the Peach Belt Conference with more than one player ranked among the top 10 scorers, placing three players on the list. Lydia Gattozzi led the group in fifth place, followed by Taniyah Bowman in sixth and Janiyah Heyward in 10th.

Heyward also ranked among the conference's top performers in two additional categories, placing fifth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage. Bowman finished the season first in free throws made and sixth in free-throw percentage. Bri Pelote ranked third in the conference in blocked shots, while Heyward finished seventh in steals, helping lead the Sand Sharks' defensive efforts.

During the season USCB had three athletes earn conference honors. Starting with Taniyah Bowman earning 1st Team All-Conference along with the elite 18 award. Lydia Gattozzi earned 2nd team All-Conference followed by Janiyah Heyward earning third team All-Conference.

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