South Carolina’s girls’s basketball dynasty underneath Daybreak Staley is simply getting began

CLEVELAND — Initially of the 2024 NCAA girls’s nationwide championship sport on Sunday afternoon, the Iowa Hawkeyes and celebrity Caitlin Clark have been in-sync and on fireplace.

The Iowa followers have been loud and on their ft amongst a totally bought out Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. A complete of 18,300 individuals have been in attendance to catch the ultimate girls’s faculty basketball sport to shut out a historic season of viewership. Iowa went on a 10-0 run within the first couple of minutes of the sport and Clark scored 18 to complete the primary quarter. For a second, one might have thought that possibly this was going to be a storybook ending for Clark and her squad. And simply possibly South Carolina wouldn’t turn into the eleventh group in DI girls’s basketball historical past to finish an ideal season.

However as coaches talked about this season and reiterated once more through the Closing 4 weekend— South Carolina is a stacked and proficient drive. With a 6’7 heart, quick guards, forwards with lengthy arms and a robust defensive unit, the Gamecocks as soon as once more proved that their spectacular roster and deep bench was constructed for championship success.

Trying again at this sport and even South Carolina’s whole season, their depth and dominance was apparent. In Sunday’s sport, the Gamecocks defeated Iowa 87-75, with a complete of 37 factors coming from their bench.

“We have now been enjoying like this all season,” stated sophomore Ashlyn Watkins in regards to the group’s bench play.

“[It’s] not solely their depth, their top,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder stated. “I’m not simply speaking about their facilities. They’re actually fairly large at each place, which makes it arduous. They might get well very well once we had three-pointers.”

South Carolina freshman Tessa Johnson, who posted a season-high 19 factors, had LeBron James mentioning her identify on Twitter (X) and made the all-tournament group. Fellow freshman teammate MiLaysia Fulwiley had 9 factors, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. To suppose how far more faculty basketball these two have at South Carolina proves that the Gamecocks might nonetheless keep dominant.

Staley now has three nationwide championship rings at South Carolina in 2017, 2022, and 2024. What’s scary is it appears like she’s simply getting began.

Photograph by Gregory Shamus/Getty Photos

“Tessa was due for a breakout sport,” stated senior Te-Hina Paopao. “What to do higher than on a nationwide stage? She’s trusted her course of right here. She’s trusted her journey. And for her to do this on such a giant stage, I’m so happy with her. Her confidence has grown a lot.”

Regardless of Clark main her group with 30 factors, followers witnessed her remaining collegiate sport as she heads on to her skilled profession, leaving her mark and a legacy in girls’s faculty basketball world. South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, who Clark memorably waved off in final 12 months’s semifinal sport, needed to guard Clark after her big first quarter.

“I used to be prepared for the second. And I take protection very arduous, like I take it to coronary heart,” Raven Johnson stated. “I studied her strikes, and I used to be prepared. I had confidence this 12 months. I used to be telling myself final 12 months’s not going to occur once more.”

Assuming no gamers switch, South Carolina will solely lose senior heart Kamilla Cordoso, who’s projected to be a primary spherical WNBA draft choose. Cordoso completed Sunday’s sport with 15 factors and 17 rebounds and proved to be a troublesome take a look at for Iowa.

“Cardoso had 17 rebounds. They’ve 51 as a group. We have now 29. Onerous to win a basketball sport like that,” Clark stated. “You’ve mainly received to shoot excellent at that time.”

Whereas chatting with the media after the sport, Staley spoke about how as a result of depth of her group lots of her gamers in all probability wished extra enjoying time all through the season, however she credited how all of them got here in and stepped up at totally different factors.

“To have a roster that goes 9, 10 deep is — it’s a privilege, it truly is. However it must be developed slowly and the correct approach,” Staley stated. “Like, there’s quite a lot of belief that must be constructed as a result of there’s some video games that a few of them gained’t play a complete lot, particularly the individuals which can be coming off the bench.”

As this girls’s faculty basketball season ends with South Carolina because the champions, it’s straightforward to think about that with a really related roster they may very well be again right here, hoisting the trophy and reducing down the nets in Tampa.

“I’m actually taking this second in but when I’m serious about the longer term, I hope we develop as a program and that we develop as a group.” Tessa Johnson stated.