Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina's Players Era Festival loss to Texas

South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media following the team’s 66-64 loss to Texas in the Players Era Festival championship game on Thursday. Here’s everything she had to say.

On the next-to-last play where Ta’Niya Latson drew the foul and hit the two free throws, what was the call coming out of the timeout?

(Latson said: “To get a stop. That was the call. We had to get a stop after that.”)

“That was the play, simply. That’s what she’s great at.”

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Joyce (Edwards) has such an ability to change the game and fuel runs, as she did yesterday. Today, she helped you guys come back but wasn’t able to score in the fourth quarter, despite grabbing four rebounds. What’s the next step for her in terms of making an impact for 40 minutes?

“Next step is you’ve got to be able to make plays — plays for yourself, and plays for your teammates. That’s the next step. I think she had about three shots in the fourth quarter that were forced. But we give her the leeway to do that. She just has to be aware because I think she had Tessa (Johnson) in a corner. She’s a young player that we have to put her in situations and show her situations in real time and also gain…

“This was a great game, great SEC game, for us to learn what we need to do in order for us to win games like this. I’m not upset at all at this game. This is going to help us because there are a lot of things to unpack in it. We played some players that needed to get experience in big-time games. And then, I think we found someone that could… We’re a little more comfortable with putting Adhel Tac in the game. She gave us valuable minutes. I like her energy and effort out there, and I like her rebounding.”

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!

What are some of the things you liked about your team in this game that, moving forward, will help you?

“I did like our rebounding until the fourth quarter. I thought we were edging them out and rebounding. Now, I like to say that Madina (Okot) got another double-double. I just like the fact that we got some experience with this team playing a team that pretty much brings back the core of their team. And if you can give them a run for their money in that way, you’re on to something. You’re on to being a better team. So, I like our resiliency. We’ve just got to clean up some things at the end of the game.”

Texas shot 47 percent or better in three quarters. In the second quarter, you really locked them down from the field. What stood out to you defensively tonight?

“I mean, we played our style of defense. This is who we are, but with a new team, with new players that have to play significant roles for us. I like the fact that we can clearly see where we need to get better. We weren’t disciplined in guarding screening actions. Not very disciplined, giving them an advantage before we even actually are able to get back in front of them. So, we’re much more disciplined in how we guard staggers and off-ball screening.”

The loss may still be fresh, but what are some of the positive takeaways from this tournament? And will you be back?

“Yeah, we’ll be back for two more years. Positive, you get great competition. You’re able to get some quality wins. Even in this loss, it’s a quality loss. So, it doesn’t really hurt us.

“But I like our team. I like the fact that they gutted it out. I like the fact that, again, we could see where we faltered. And when you can see that, and when you have people in the game that understand it a little bit better, we’re moving the chain. We’re going to move the chain in practice — that’s the most important thing.”

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!