Dawn Staley knew South Carolina was cooked before the fourth quarter started

It was late in the third quarter of the women’s national championship game. Dawn Staley looked stressed and her South Carolina women’s basketball squad was getting thrown around by the UConn Huskies through the entire game up to that point. 

Her reaction also foreshadowed the feelings of every South Carolina fan halfway through the fourth quarter. Staley knew before then, the Gamecocks weren’t going to win their second-straight national championship. 

South Carolina was simply out-played in the national championship from start to finish. While the teams traded leads early in the first quarter, UConn took a five-point lead and built on it each quarter to end the Gamecocks’ shot at a second-straight title and improve to 2-0 over the Huskies in the title game. 

Dawn Staley, South Carolina shouldn’t fret too much over national championship embarrassment, the future is bright

While the Gamecocks’ season didn’t end the way they wanted, one silver lining they can take away from Sunday is they still have a bright future.

The Gamecocks have at least six players returning to next year’s squad, per an ESPN too-early predictions look ahead into the 2025-26 season. Chloe Kitts rose as one of the team’s top players toward the end of the season. She entered the national championship game averaging over 10 points per game, the highest among the starters. 

MiLaysia Fulwiley and Joyce Edwards were a bright spot for South Carolina off the bench and should fill into a starting role next year. Fulwiley showed everyone just how talented she is when it comes to getting to the basket. In Sunday's national title game, her defensive prowess kept the Gamecocks within reach before a fourth-quarter collapse.

It will most likely come down to Ashlyn Watkins and Maddy McDaniel. They are the two juniors that will be seniors on next year’s squad, along with Kitts. They’ll also have added motivation. 

South Carolina managed to run through the NCAA Tournament until it ran into UConn. The Huskies whooped on the Gamecocks back in February and did it again on the last game of the women’s college basketball season. 

As if Staley and her squad need any more motivation after how this year’s national championship game went. Their revenge tour has already begun and it’s up to everybody that remembers what Sunday’s loss felt like.