Gamecocks deliver crown for Staley
DALLAS — Dawn Staley is going to savor her first NCAA championship. It took her a long time to finally be able to raise the trophy over her head.
A’ja Wilson scored 23 points to help coach Staley and South Carolina win their first national championship with a 67-55 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday night.
Staley made the Final Four three times as a player at Virginia but never won. She also led the Gamecocks to the national semifinals two years ago before losing to Notre Dame.
“It means that I can check off one of the things that had been a void in my career,” said Staley wearing the championship net around her neck in the postgame press conference. “Something I wanted to do. It was one of two opportunities that I saw women play when I was younger — national championship games and Olympics. Those were things that I held dear and near to me growing up. Those were the things I saw and were shooting for.”
The victory in front of a sellout crowd came one day after the Gamecocks men’s basketball team lost in the Final Four in Phoenix.
Wilson, a native South Carolina player who was Sta- ley’s biggest recruit ever, was the key. She was thrilled to help Staley get her first title.
“I can’t put into words how much it meant to win the game for coach,” Wilson said. “She’s put in so much time and sweat into this. ... It really means something special to bring this back home for such a great person like coach Staley.”
She became just the second African-American coach to win a national championship, joining Carolyn Peck of Purdue.
Mississippi State had all the momentum on its side after a shocking win over UConn on Friday night that ended the Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak. The Bulldogs couldn’t muster the same effort against the Gamecocks. Morgan William, who had become the face of the tournament with the game-winner against the Huskies after a 41-point performance against Baylor, was held to just eight points.
South Carolina (33-4) turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 45-31 advantage midway through the third quarter. Mississippi State (34-5) slowly cut into its deficit, getting as close as 54-50 on Jazzmun Holmes’ jumper.