Dawn Staley Keeps It Real After Gamecocks’ Record-Breaking NCAA Tournament Win
The South Carolina Gamecocks made a loud statement in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, delivering a historic beatdown to Tennessee Tech that left no doubt about their championship ambitions.
Despite not being named the top overall seed—a decision that didn’t sit well with Dawn Staley—the Gamecocks are proving exactly why they’re the betting favorites to win it all again.
And on Friday, they showed zero mercy in their record-breaking performance.
Gamecocks Make NCAA History in Blistering First-Round Victory
Freshman Joyce Edwards led the charge with 22 points and five rebounds off the bench, while all 12 Gamecocks put points on the board in a dominant, start-to-finish thrashing of Tennessee Tech.
By halftime, South Carolina was up by 33, having held the Golden Eagles to just 27 points in the first two quarters. When the final buzzer sounded, the Gamecocks had demolished their opponent 108-48, marking their highest-scoring NCAA Tournament game in program history—surpassing their 100-point performance against Quinnipiac in 2017.
But while fans celebrated, Dawn Staley was already thinking ahead.
Dawn Staley’s Focus? Fixing Gamecocks’ Weaknesses Before Indiana Clash
Despite their flawless first-round showing, Staley wasn’t satisfied. With a tough Indiana Hoosiers squad up next, she wasted no time highlighting areas for improvement.
“We’ve certainly got to… control the pace of the game,” Staley emphasized.
“And then… their ability to penetrate… is paramount. So for us, we’ve got to disrupt… We certainly have to disrupt from a defensive standpoint. And then, we can’t have 16 turnovers… We can’t turn the ball over. And then our bench and our depth has to be in character with what they’ve done all season long.”
The Gamecocks return to action on Sunday, and while their dominant first-round performance is already making headlines, Staley is keeping her eyes on the prize—another national championship.
With their historic win behind them, all eyes are now on South Carolina vs. Indiana—and if the Gamecocks clean up their mistakes, they could be unstoppable.
