South Carolina is one win away from a third title in four years. But amid the Gamecocks‘ pursuit, Dawn Staley pointed to the media coverage her team has received.
The two preeminent coaches in women’s college basketball will meet in Sunday’s NCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship game.
Geno Auriemma has coached UConn to 11 national titles, while South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has led the Gamecocks to three championships – including the 2024 title. UConn and South Carolina will battle for the 2025 championship in Tampa, Florida, later Sunday.
Staley is one of college basketball’s high-profile figures, and she has often shared her thoughts on whatever issue the sport may be contending with at a given moment. Amid the Gamecocks‘ pursuit of back-to-back national titles, Staley spoke out on the narratives surrounding UConn star Paige Bueckers as it relates to the framework of women’s college basketball.
Staley pointed out the narratives surrounding former Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark when she spoke about the conversations currently being thrown around about Bueckers.
Clark’s individual accomplishments during her rise to stardom over the last couple of years dominated media coverage. Clark was largely, and in some instances solely, credited with women’s basketball’s steep rise in popularity.
When speaking about Bueckers and the pursuit of her first career championship, Staley suggested there was a tendency „to forget the narrative about what (South Carolina players) have been able to do, going for their third (national championship) in four years.“
„Sometimes we create these narratives about great players – Caitlin was one of them; Paige is one of them right now – and we tend to forget the narrative about what our kids have been able to do, going for their third in four years“, Staley said during a press conference on Saturday.
