Dawn Staley Notes 'Unmatched' Part of South Carolina Tenure After NCAA Tournament WIn
While the No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team was tested in the first half of their March 23 NCAA Tournament second-round game against Indiana, Dawn Staley's squad ultimately pulled away and secured a 64-53 victory, sending the program to its 13th Sweet Sixteen since Staley became head coach in 2008.
Staley has already cemented her legacy as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of this century, and the fact that she managed to build a perennial national championship contender with the Gamecocks has been nothing short of astonishing.
When speaking with the media after Sunday's game, Staley reflected on what has set her program apart over the past 17 seasons.
"This is really the place to be when it comes to women's basketball," Staley said of South Carolina, per the March Madness YouTube account. "It's entertainment, it's developing and creating friendships, it is unified. I mean, you look into our arena and you can see every seat filled, and it's of every background, every single ethnic background.
"We've won National Championships, but I would say that we've been champions in uniting people. And that is super proud, that's the thing that I'm most proud of," Staley continued. "That's the thing that has kept me here for 17 years.
"To walk away from what we've built here would be extremely hard, like extremely hard. And I think it's just unmatched," she concluded.
Hearing Staley's conviction about staying at South Carolina despite surely being a hot commodity for WNBA head coaching positions has got to be great for Gamecocks fans to hear.
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Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
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