After South Carolina’s national championship loss to UConn, Dawn Staley made it a point to shift the spotlight—this time, onto the people often overlooked.
The Gamecocks fell short in the NCAA title game, losing 82-59 to a relentless UConn squad at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Despite entering as the top seed, South Carolina struggled offensively, shooting just 34.4% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc in their final outing of the season.
Following her official postgame press conference, Staley didn’t rush out. Instead, she stayed behind for a heartfelt moment with the local reporters who’ve followed the Gamecocks all year.
“I’ll leave on this note,” said Staley. “This is our local media. You all have followed us across the season. A lot of times, people ask me to do things on a national scale, and I say no a lot. Because they don’t really know our team. You guys know our team… You’re pretty fair with how you assess our basketball team. … If every program had this, I think we could push women’s basketball forward, on a local level, across the country.”
The 54-year-old head coach made it clear how much she values local media—a sentiment not often shared in an era dominated by national headlines and viral soundbites.
Just a day earlier, Staley had taken issue with ESPN, criticizing what she believed was a misleading headline regarding her comments about UConn star Paige Bueckers. Her intention, she clarified, was to uplift her own players, emphasizing how remarkable it was for her team to reach the finals without a standout name like Bueckers.
Even in defeat, Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks remain a gold standard in women’s college basketball. Their culture of excellence, gratitude, and grounded leadership isn’t going away anytime soo
