Dawn Staley shares emotions of clinching SEC regular season title
With a 72-44 win over Alabama on Thursday evening, South Carolina secured its third-straight SEC regular season title. After the game, head coach Dawn Staley discussed her excitement to achieve the milestone.
“We want to win. When there’s a championship out there, we want to win. If there’s a game out there, we want to win,” Staley said. “It’s great that this team has put us in this position this early into the regular season because it usually takes until probably the last game. You’re jockeying for position, you’re looking over your shoulder, and they they made it clear. It feels good.”
South Carolina is only the third SEC program in conference history to win three straight regular-season titles. Staley has now led South Carolina to eight SEC regular season championships, seven SEC tournament championships, 10 Sweet Sixteens, five Final Fours and two NCAA championships.
Following the win, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey presented the award to the Gamecocks. Staley accepted the honor and made a rousing speech for any fans who stuck around to celebrate the team’s accomplishment.
“I want to thank our fans for making it feel like a championship every single time that we come into this gym,” Staley said. “You created it, and we’re producing championships. Thank you so very much for all you do to help us bring home the hardware that you help us bring home.
“Congratulations to our team, who worked hard. And I’ve got to give it up to our coaching staff, who work tirelessly to ensure to ensure they’re not the ones who give up a defeat. We’re undefeated right now. So, everybody’s undefeated in scouting reports. That’s always a great thing.”
South Carolina makes more history
Another SEC regular season title isn’t the only history Dawn Staley has made this season. After South Carolina defeated Georgia on Sunday, it became the first Southeastern Conference team to start 25-0 in back-to-back campaigns. On Thursday, the team also extended its regular-season win streak to a whopping 44 games.
The Gamecocks had to work for their historic win, trailing Georgia by seven points at halftime. South Carolina ultimately won the second half by a score of 42-21, including a 22-9 third quarter, to take it by 14.
During the past two years, the Gamecocks are 61-1 with their lone loss coming to Iowa by four points in the Final Four. Add in the year before that and South Carolina is now 96-3 over since the start of 2021-2022.