Women's Fastbreak On SI

Dawn Staley Hopes South Carolina Players Are 'Crying' After NCAA Championship Loss

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley sent a blunt message about her team after their NCAA national championship game loss to UConn.
Grant Young|
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the first half of the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the first half of the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team's quest to produce back-to-back NCAA national championships came up short on Sunday, as they were dominated by the UConn Huskies in the championship game by a score of 87-58.

It was a frustrating game for Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley. While her team got off to a solid start, UConn kept pouring it on until South Carolina found themselves in a deficit they could not climb out of. By the fourth quarter, it was clear that UConn was simply the better team on both ends of the court.

Staley's frustration was conveyed when the ESPN broadcast caught her screaming a curse word in fury at one point in the game, which has since gone viral on social media.

During her postgame press conference, Staley didn't mince words about how she wants her team to be feeling in the wake of this defeat.

"I hope they're crying. I hope they're boo-hooing," Staley said when asked how she wants her returning players to be reacting in the locker room, per an X post from FOX College Hoops.

"Because crying and having emotion about losing makes you work a little bit harder in the offseason, makes you look at it and really analyze what the separation is from their program and our program and how we close the gap with that," she added.

"They're very talented, and I think they got a great experience of playing at this level that I hope they have a desire to get back here and do all the things that it takes to play in a national championship game, and then deliver the blows that's needed to win."

Very strong words from Staley in the wake of her team's crushing defeat.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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