South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is making a case to be on the Mt. Rushmore of head coaches in women’s college hoops history.
The undefeated Gamecocks defeated Iowa 87-65 Saturday in the NCAA championship game to complete the 10th perfect season in women’s college basketball history.
Staley was visibly emotional after the game. In the postgame interview, she broke down in tears and when she tried to regain her composure, she broke down again. Several of her players came to comfort her.
“We serve an unbelievable God,” Staley said. “We serve an unbelievable God.”
The victory was impressive as it pitted the best overall team in the country against the best overall player in Caitlin Clark.
Last season, it was Clark and the Hawkeyes who got the last laugh, upsetting the 36-0 Gamecocks 77-73. This year, South Carolina finished the job.
For Clark, it was the end of a historic college career. This season, she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I Basketball (both men and women’s) and is credited for popularizing women’s hoops at the college level.
“It’s certainly been a special year,” Clark said. “After last year, it was like ‘how do we top what we did last year,’ and somehow someway, every single person in our locker room believed, and to be honest, this year was probably more special than last year.”
The beginning of the game felt like a deja vu for South Carolina as Iowa, particularly Clark, looked unstoppable to begin the game.
The Hawkeyes got off to a 20-9 lead, and Clark had 13 points. She finished with 18 points in the first quarter. The joy did not last for Iowa.
Following the slow start, the Gamecocks displayed their ruthless efficiency and physicality offensively and defensively.
Star center Kamilla Cardoso dominated defensively on the boards, hindering Hannah Stuelke for much of the game.
Offensively, it was Tessa Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao that brought the Gamecocks back in the game with crucial three-pointers. South Carolina led by three at halftime.
Coming out of the break, South Carolina took control of the game. Iowa did not go down quietly, keeping the game competitive with a few runs, but South Carolina was too much to handle down the stretch.
Staley joins Geno Auriemma, Jody Conradt, Kim Mulkey, and Pat Summit as the only head coaches with a perfect season. All four have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches (Staley was inducted as a player).
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