As the South Carolina women’s basketball team prepares for its national championship matchup against UConn, head coach Dawn Staley wants to remind the sports world about what the Gamecocks are on the verge of accomplishing.
South Carolina, national champions in 2022 and ’24, is looking to secure its third NCAA tournament title in the last four years on Sunday. Raven Johnson, Sania Feagin and Bree Hall are among the Gamecocks who have been a part of the past two championship-winning rosters and are looking for their third.
On the other side of the bracket awaits UConn, one of the other storied programs in NCAA history. The Huskies are led by Paige Bueckers, who is the anticipated No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and is playing in her final collegiate game on Sunday.
Staley issued a reminder to media and fans alike that both programs should be equally celebrated. Last year, the Gamecocks defeated Iowa 87-75 in the national championship—a matchup that also marked the final collegiate game for Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and eventual No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.
“Sometimes, we create these narratives about great players. Caitlin [Clark] was one of them; Paige is one of them right now—and we tend to forget about the narrative about what our kids have been able to do, going for their third in four years,” Staley said Saturday. “There’s a sentimental narrative about Paige. Great freaking player. Anybody would start their franchise with Paige because of her efficient way of playing, because she’s a winner, because cerebrally knows the game, just has an aura about her.
“When you put a narrative out there, everybody sees that, and it puts us at a disadvantage. Whether you want to believe so or not. Officials see it. It’s all over TikTok. It’s all over SportsCenter. It’s all over all of that.”
Staley’s full answer: pic.twitter.com/i3VMJjSMq4
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) April 5, 2025
South Carolina enters the national championship with a 35-3 record—the program’s fourth straight season with at least 35 wins. Led by a deep, balanced roster headlined by Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Chloe Kitts, the Gamecocks cruised to first-place finish and a conference tournament title. They advanced to the national championship on Friday night with a dominant 74-57 win over No. 1 seed Texas.
Bueckers, on the other hand, is finishing off an illustrious collegiate career in which a national championship is the only thing missing from her trophy case.
“She’s a great player, but just because you’re a great player doesn’t mean you need to win a national championship to legitimize it. Paige is legit,” Staley said. “She was legit from the moment she stepped on this stage.
“… It happened to us last year. Everything was about Caitlin Clark and her legacy and her ability to win a national championship. Yet we were coming into this thing undefeated, doing something that’s unprecedented at the time. It’s hard. And we find ourselves back here in a similar situation.
“I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do—equally. There’s room to do both. We can raise Paige up because she deserves that, and we can raise our players up because they deserve that. … There’s room in our game for all of us to be covered.”
South Carolina and UConn are set to square off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday at Amalie Arena.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
