The South Carolina Lady Gamecocks finished yet another dominant season under Coach Dawn Staley.
With back-to-back championship appearances, Staley's team came to battle with everything to prove and clinched the win. The Lady Gamecocks are officially your 2022 NCAA Women’s Champions!
This past Sunday's NCAA tournament featured South Carolina's annihilation of the number two seed, UCONN Huskies, 64-49. Although the game was set in the cold state of Minnesota, South Carolina brought the heat to the Target Center in a wire-to-wire victory.
South Carolina’s Junior guard Destanni Henderson dropped 26 points with 50% shooting from three, and star Junior forward Aliyah Boston chipped in with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
South Carolina’s dominating defense forced 15 UConn turnovers and limited Huskies’ Freshman standout Paige Bueckers to 14 points, holding UConn to 49 total points. In their previous matchup back in November 2021, UConn was held to just 57 total points. You’d assume the Gamecocks' game plan was strictly defense!
They obliterated opposition at an alarming rate this season winning 94.2% of the time and finishing with a record of 35-2, which is recorded as their most wins under Coach Staley.
But Dawn Staley is also no stranger to accolades herself. She was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and two-time Naismith Player of the Year as a college player. She was also a three-time Olympic gold medalist for our country and a one-time champion as a pro.
Now, she's a two-time coaching champ (2017, 2022) in South Carolina, chasing the legendary career of renowned Black coach, John Thompson.
There's no doubt Staley will become a Hall of Famer in both professions and has solidified her status as a sports icon, teacher, and mentor, with more to come.