GREENVILLE, S.C. — Dawn Staley wasn’t ready to talk about Iowa and Caitlin Clark just yet Monday night.
It was 10 p.m. at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, and Staley, wearing another Final Four hat after No. 1 seed South Carolina’s 86-75 win against No. 2 seed Maryland, didn’t want to look ahead to the Gamecocks’ Final Four opponent.
“We’re gonna have these questions for the next four days, so I want to enjoy our team,” Staley said, politely declining to comment on the Hawkeyes. “Getting to another Final Four is pretty special, so we’re gonna answer the Iowa, Caitlin Clark questions in the near future.”
Staley was well within reason to want to savor the moment Monday night with her team. South Carolina, 36-0, is on a historic run in its quest to win its second consecutive national championship and third title since 2017. This particular Gamecocks team will go down as one of the sport’s best.
But, with all due respect to Staley, she might have been alone on wanting to wait to talk about the looming showdown.
By 9:51 p.m., Staley and Clark, Iowa’s do-it-all star whose 40-point triple-double against Louisville on Sunday was the first in the men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament history, were already trending on Twitter.
By 10:13 p.m., ESPN’s in-studio crew was…
