Dawn Staley, Players Discuss Emotional Senior Day
For South Carolina's Women's Basketball program and all of Gamecock nation, the water ducts seemed to be working in hyperdrive on Sunday, as the team's special 2019 recruiting class that's spearheaded their rise to the top of the sport over the past four years was honored on senior day. For superstars Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke in particular, there are a few specific moments that stuck out, like Boston recalling everything her family did for her to excel in her basketball career when walking out with them onto the court.
"It was just unreal, having my family up here cause I just think back to all the sacrifices with me moving to the [United] States at the age of 12," Aliyah said. "So just kinda having that special moment with them and just seeing that I'm graduating college and time has just flown by, it was a really special moment."
For Zia Cooke, the Gamecocks' offensive lightning rod in the backcourt, it was the moment when all five members of the 2019 class, known affectionately as the freshies, were on the court at the same time near the end of the contest against Georgia.
"We all came together, all the freshies, and we kinda just let our thoughts out to each other, then we finished it with a freshies on three. I think that was a very, very special moment, just knowing that we started together and we finished together and how genuine we've all been with each other."
Although South Carolina finished the regular season with an undefeated record, they're about to head into a familiar yet pressure-packed stretch, as every game from this moment on will be a win-or-go-home scenario in either the SEC or NCAA tournament. Regarding how the team is preparing for these impending bouts, coach Dawn Staley believes that the team won't change their routine much but admitted that the team had not lost a game this season could bring a unique challenge.
"I think we'll be who we are. Losing isn't something that we've done this year, so we really don't know how we'll respond to it, so I hope we're not even faced with it. I hope this team understands the task that's in front of them, and they stay current with that."
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