We are used to seeing Dawn Staley win. We’re less familiar with seeing South Carolina’s coach become emotional, but that’s exactly what we got as the final seconds ticked off the clock during Sunday’s NCAA women’s championship game.
Whether it was eclipsing the expectations of many college basketball watchers who thought the team would be good — but not this good — or finally getting over the hump of delivering an undefeated season, the tears flowed during Staley’s postgame interview, just minutes after the Gamecocks’ 87-75 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes secured a 38-0 season and a championship.
“I didn’t want what happened last year to happen this year,” Staley said postgame. After all, it was the Gamecocks who took an undefeated record into the 2023 Final Four, only to be dispatched in a 77-73 loss by Caitlin Clark and these same Hawkeyes. Having a team be perfect, or perfect enough, and falling short of the chance to play for a championship was devastating. “They weren’t going to be denied,” Staley said as she began to gather her composure.
“I had a little bit of PTSD,” Staley said. “I mean, it’s heavy, it’s heavy. You carry the burden of every single one of your players, all the coaches and staff…
