South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley addressed the media following her team’s 69–52 victory over Southern Cal on Saturday. Below is a full breakdown of her comments.
Opening statement
Staley began by recognizing the organizations that made the high-profile matchup possible.
“First, I’d like to just say, the organizations, the companies that poured into this game, it takes money. It takes a lot of money to put women’s basketball on this stage, on national television. Complete Sports Management, Aflac, Fox — they all did a great job. They could have said no. They could have said, ‘This is a bad idea. We can’t get it done.’ But when you have people like them pouring into women’s basketball, displaying a great game between two teams that were trying to win a basketball game, I think, today, women’s basketball won — for all the people that poured into our sport. We’re looked upon as a sport now. It feels really good to be supported in that way.”
On what moments showed how good this team can be
Staley emphasized the challenges that come with relying on players new to major roles.
“I mean, we have four new starters. We have, probably, seven players that have to play a different role for us than they had to play in their previous school or (for) us. And it’s hard. We’re used to having a core group of players playing together for a long time. Raven (Johnson) is basically the lone person that has been a part of that regime where we had a core group of players over the past four to five years. So, she’s got to take on a big responsibility. She’s got a lot of help from Joyce (Edwards), but most of them don’t know the standard that they have to play.”
Staley again highlighted Madina Okot’s importance.
“I thought we put a game plan together. And I’m gonna give a lot of credit to Madina (Okot), who just really controlled the paint. She was where we needed her to be, time and time again. And she needed it, just from a confidence standpoint, knowing that we need her and knowing that she can execute a game plan. I think she’s part of us finding our identity because we usually are led by our bigs. But our guards are in a place where they’re probably our most experienced players, and they’re playing like that, as well, until everybody gets up to speed.”
On Joyce Edwards’ impact
Staley praised Edwards’ motor, experience, and work ethic.
“She’s worked really hard all of her life for these moments. She’s a year older, and you can see the experience kicking in. Like, she trusts her work. She trusts the work that she puts in behind closed doors when nobody’s looking. Good, bad or different, she trusts that part of what she brings to the table. She is a total crash-out on both sides of the ball — and I mean that in the most affectionate way. Like, she wants to win. She’s very competitive, and she plays both sides of the basketball. So, I’m challenging her to be the best two-way player on the floor every time she steps on the floor. And she’s goal-oriented, so if she’s that for us, we’re going to win a lot of basketball games.”
On the scoring and rebounding balance
She noted that the team’s production came from both guards and post players.
“I mean, our players were playing to win. You want your bigs to rebound the basketball. You want rebounding to be a decision; you’re either going to do it, or you’re not going to do it. We decided to do it. We knew that USC would take, probably, a lot of jump shots. So, there will be long rebounds. Our guards were really just getting after it. They decided they want to win, and they were going to play the intangible game, win that battle. That’s getting the loose balls, chasing rebounds down. And that’s what you want to see: winning plays.”
On whether this game settled the “Real SC” debate
Staley didn’t hesitate.
“I would say we got the title until we play them again next year. Until Nov. 15 in Greenville, we’re gonna wear that title with pride. So, we are, yes, ‘The Real USC.’”
What stood out on the stat sheet
Despite the win, not everything pleased Staley.
“I’m looking at 17 turnovers; I don’t admire those. I like the fact that we rebounded the basketball. I like the fact that we are spreading the wealth, as far as the amount of shots that are being taken; I like the fact that we have 16 assists on 29 field goals. And I like the plus-minus. Like, Madina leading us in plus-minus. You probably underestimated her impact on the game, but we know that, if she didn’t clog up the paint like she did, USC would have probably got a couple more easy buckets, easy looks in the paint. So, we were able to control the paint. I’m admiring just the start of our greatness.”
On Aliyah Boston attending the game
Staley said Boston’s presence means a lot to her current players.
“This is the first time we’ve seen her since she had such a great season. She’s gonna be around next week, so she’s gonna be around the players. I’m sure they’re going to pick her brain about how well she made the transition from college to the pros. Just being her third year out, she’s on the All-WNBA Second Team. And I think she’s on her way to being the MVP because she works extremely hard at her craft. I want our bigs to really just ask her, allow her to pour into them what it takes to compete and to play at the highest level.”
On Raven Johnson’s progression as a floor general
Staley delivered one of her strongest statements of the day regarding her point guard.
“When you have a point guard like Raven — who is a pass-first point guard, a consummate point guard — and you hear so many people break her game down and minimize what she brings to the table, it’s disheartening. It’s ignorant because, if you really don’t know what she’s bringing to the table, you don’t really understand the game.”
“Raven lost 11 games from 2017 ’til today. And we want to talk about, you know, ‘Can she score or not?’ Yes, she can score. She really can score. But when it comes down to winning, she makes the right plays — whether that’s scoring, whether it’s defending, whether that’s rebounding, whether it’s getting other people involved.”
“I love Raven. We’re gonna miss her presence. But when you think about a winner, when you think about a consummate point guard, Raven is that. And if WNBA teams want to be like us — meaning the amount of success that we’ve had with her in the lineup — they’re gonna take Raven in the first round.”
