Dawn Staley has spent the last 15 years in building South Carolina women’s basketball into one of the most dominant dynasties in all of sports. She led the Gamecocks to a perfect season this year, the first time a women’s team has finished with an unblemished record since UConn did it in 2016. South Carolina finished 38-0 this year, bringing home the 2024 National Championship in the process. Under her watch, the Gamecocks have been to six Final Fours in the past eight seasons (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
She’s also helped lead them to three national titles (2017, 2022, and 2024). On a recent version of Andy Staples On3, On3’s Talia Goodman shared her thoughts on Staley’s ascension in women’s college basketball.
“Yeah. She’s incredible. What she does X’s and O’s wise. Recruiting. She just manages to get the right players in her team. It’s not always. It’s about best fit for her. It’s not you know, you see the flashy name and you want them there. It’s you find the best fit for your team and you know, look where that got her. An undefeated season. Another national title. They’re just incredible and I think they have a real chance to do it again next year,” Goodman said.
No women’s basketball team has repeated as national champions since 2016, but Staley and the Gamecocks will attempt to do so next year. No season is guaranteed, and they’ll have to step out onto the floor and get it done between the lines.
During her college basketball playing career, Staley was one of the greatest players in Virginia women’s basketball history during her time with the Cavaliers. She had her jersey retired. Once she wrapped up her career there, she scored more than 2,000 points, had more than 700 rebounds, more than 700 assists, and more than 400 steals, becoming the only women’s basketball player in ACC history to accomplish the feat.
South Carolina had their toughest test of the season against the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2024 SEC Tournament Semifinals. The Gamecocks won that one 74-73, but needed some late-game heroics from their leading scorer, Kamila Cardoso. Dawn Staley drew up a play for Cardoso and she managed to bank in a desperation shot at the buzzer to lift the Gamecocks to victory.
South Carolina actually blew a 23-point lead and trailed the Volunteers 73-71 with 1.1 seconds remaining.
The Gamecocks really breezed through the 2024 NCAA Tournament, but they had tough tests against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Sweet 16 (79-75). They also had another tough test in Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the National Championship Game, but they managed to pull it out in the second half, 87-75.
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