The South Carolina Gamecocks (35-3) prepare for the championship game as current 6.5-point underdogs against the UConn Huskies (36-3). While UConn looks to end a seven-year title drought, South Carolina has won three of the last four championships. Are they being disrespected? Head coach Dawn Staley seems to think that, in at least one way, they are.
UConn Huskies and Paige Bueckers Have Been the Dominant Darlings of the Tournament
To be fair, UConn is indisputably the most successful program in the history of women’s basketball. Since 2003, they have won eight national titles. They have been to 16 of the last 17 Final Fours. This season, including in the tournament, each of their wins has come by double digits.
South Carolina, on the other hand, has had some scares this March, clawing out four-point wins over Maryland and Duke, both games they could easily have lost, before pulling away from Texas last round for a 74-57 victory. When SC hosted the Huskies earlier this season, the visitors executed an 87-58 beatdown. Friday, UConn decimated UCLA by a women’s semifinal record 34 points.
And this edition of the Gamecocks is not the same crushing squad of years past–such as the 38-0 national champions in 2024. The Huskies are sizable favorites for a reason.
At least to a national audience, they also have a more captivating storyline. In her senior year, UConn star Paige Bueckers is looking at her last chance to add a championship to her college career resume. Wildly popular, Bueckers overcame injury as a sophomore to return to form as one of the game’s best scorers. Averaging 20 PPG on 53.9/42.4/88.2% shooting splits, along with 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals, she powered the Huskies’ tournament run with three straight 30-point performances leading into the Final Four. By her standards, putting 17 points on the Bruins was a disappointing night.
Frankly, Staley might be a little sick of hearing about her, comparing this year’s Bueckers hype to last season’s Caitlin Clark-sanity. “Sometimes we create these narratives about great players — Caitlin was one of them; Paige is one of them right now — and we tend to forget the narrative about what our kids have been able to do, going for their third in four years,” Staley said.
After beating Clark’s Iowa for the title in ’24, Staley will look to repeat her narrative-slaying ways in 2025. But this time, she will have to do so as an underdog. Versus the Hawkeyes, the Gamecocks were themselves favored by 6.5 points.
Dawn Staley Wants Recognition for South Carolina Gamecocks
Staley understands the position her team is in as villains in the Bueckers happily-ever-after plotline. “There’s a sentimental narrative about Paige. A great freakin’ player. But when you put a narrative out there, everybody sees that, and it puts us at a disadvantage, whether you want to believe so or not, “Staley said. “Officials see it. It’s all over TikTok. It’s all over ‘SportsCenter.’ It’s all over all of that.”
While South Carolina does not have the star power on the opposing sideline, they do have a deep, talented roster. Led by freshman Joyce Edwards (12.7 PPG), sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.8 PPG) and junior Chloe Kitts (10.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG), Staley’s group includes eight players averaging at least 6.4 points this season.
That versatility was on display versus Texas as Te-hina Paopao led the team with just 14 points, one of seven Gamecocks with at least six. Only one player, Edwards, notched double-digit shot attempts.
Despite facing more adversity than the program has been accustomed to (three losses are SC’s most in four years), they have arrived once again at the final stage. Staley wants to see them given their dues:
“I just want to put it out there. I can’t not address it because it’s happening. It happened to us last year. Everything was about Caitlin Clark and her legacy and her ability to win a national championship. … We find ourselves back here in a similar situation. … There’s room for it in our game for all of us to be covered.”
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