Dawn Staley didn’t hold back after South Carolina barely defeated Michigan in Las Vegas for the Hall of Fame Series.
The Wolverines were on the cusp of stealing a win from the Gamecocks, thanks to Syla Swords’ outstanding outing against Staley’s championship-winning outfit. Swords, a freshman, showed out against arguably the best team in the nation, scoring 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 12 rebounds in the 68-62 loss.
Even with Milaysia Fulwiley struggling, scoring only four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, Staley’s squad survived the scare to start the season off on a good note. Speaking with reporters after the game, the legendary head coach explained why she appreciated Michigan’s challenge and knows they must be ready to play with a target on their back.
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“I mean, I thought they just put us back on our heels, thought they got all the 50-50 balls,” Staley began, according to On3. “I thought they just played harder – they just attacked us.
“They imposed their will on us, and they were in attack mode for most of the night. We made adjustments – I did see us get on the floor for loose balls. I did see a little bit of nastiness to our game, and prettiness – that’s what you want to see.
“It’s a really young season, and we’re going to get everybody’s best all the time – we’re fortunate to do it. I welcome everybody’s best because, if you’re the target, you’ve had some success. And we’re not going to shy away from, obviously, having that target on our back.
“We’ll we we’ll hear the rumblings of, ‘They’re not the number one team in the country,’ or this, or that. They don’t put us the number one team in the country – we’d rather not have it. But now that we’re going to play like there’s no number attached to it, obviously, we got some adjustments to make.
Dawn Staley and South Carolina were challenged in their first game against Michigan (
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“Obviously, we got some players that have to make adjustments to certain roles in our basketball team. And that takes a little bit of time. I thought Michigan probably got their players in a more position to do that because they have a totally new roster, so they have the freedom to do that.”
With South Carolina having won the national championship in two of the last four years, Staley understands just how much of a target the Gamecocks have on their backs. This was made especially apparent after South Carolina went undefeated en route to defeating Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the final.
Still, Staley welcomed having to face the best every team has to offer every night. “I like that we’ve been challenged,” Staley continued.
“I like the fact that we’ve been exposed in certain areas because, when you’re teaching a team like this, and we play against our Highlighters, it’s not just because we’re playing against guys – we were exposed against young women who were determined to play, and they made an impact like as a collective unit.
“So it’s great film, great lessons, great gut check, great opportunity for us to learn. And, hopefully, we definitely have to get better by the time that we take the floor to play NC State on Sunday.”
As it stands, the Gamecocks (+175) have the best odds to win the national championship in 2025, per ESPN. UConn and USC have the second-best odds (+415) at unseating Staley and South Carolina.
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