
South Carolina defeats UConn in ‘national championship-like game’
The No. 1 and No. 5 teams played in front of 15,564 fans at UConn.
The love continues to flow for South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.
Staley was sitting courtside at a Charlotte Hornets game Sunday when she received an ovation from the crowd as well as a jersey from the NBA franchise.
“Big Pat is reading her resume and it took just about the entire break that we were in to get through it,” one of the Hornets’ announcers said on the broadcast. “Man, you talk about a legend.”
A national champion is in the house! @GamecockWBB Head Coach and former Charlotte Sting player @dawnstaley! pic.twitter.com/D0OaoU1W3V
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) April 10, 2022
Staley is fresh off of a national championship with the Gamecocks, the second in program history. The team finished as the consensus No. 1 team from the beginning to the end of the season before making their way through the postseason en route to the title.
Staley became the first Black woman to lead a No. 1 team all season long and then win the title.
She’s also just one of two Black women coaches alongside Carolyn Peck to win one – and the first Black coach, male or female, to win more than one.
In addition to her NCAA titles, Staley helped lead Team USA to an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
The No. 1 and No. 5 teams played in front of 15,564 fans at UConn.
Clark continues to set herself apart.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are clear front-runners.
Engelbert is focused on the long-term health of the league.
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