Dawn Staley Details South Carolina 'Come to Jesus Meeting' After UConn Blowout Loss

Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks were routed by the UConn Huskies on their home court by a score of 87-58 on February 16, marking the first time the defending NCAA national champions were beaten at home in 71 games.

During a break in action of this game (which Gamecocks guard Te-Hina Paopao called, "very much embarrassing"), Staley spoke with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe and said, "We just have to get tougher. I think all of our habits are showing up at the wrong time, and you can't do that against a team like UConn."

Despite Staley's sentiment, her team was still outscored by the Huskies in the fourth quarter.

Staley spoke to the media after her team's February 19 practice and discussed what has happened behind closed doors since that UConn loss three days ago.

"The team that took the floor against UConn really wasn't our team," Staley said, per an X post from ABC Columbia's Chaz R. Frazier. "So as a coach, you have a tendency to think 'Hey, it ain't just about basketball. What is it about?'

"We had a come to Jesus meeting, if you will. We apologized for our performances and we move on," Staley added. "I'm not gonna stay stuck in those spaces, I'm not gonna look for things. I'm just gonna call it what it is. Players have to step up, coaches have to step up, and if we want to accomplish the goals that we have out there, it's gonna take a collective effort."

"We had a come to Jesus meeting if you will... We apologized for our performances and we move on."

Today after practice, #Gamecock HC Dawn Staley was asked & followed up about her post-game comments from Sunday's loss to #UConn ⬇️@abc_columbia https://t.co/kaiGRJvxVR pic.twitter.com/jGYNKQVAuo
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) February 19, 2025

The No. 6 ranked Gamecocks have an opportunity to show how they've improved since that "come to Jesus meeting" during their game against Arkansas on Thursday.

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