The South Carolina women鈥檚 basketball team will look to rely on its experience and talent to continue its run towards a national championship, but a Final Four matchup against the Louisville Cardinals will come first in Minneapolis.
Head coach Dawn Staley dismissed the 2021 Final Four disappointment for her team as motivation, instead pointing to the team鈥檚 growth throughout the current 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒.
鈥淲e鈥檙e motivated by what we鈥檝e been able to do this year and the habits that we鈥檝e been able to create and perform night in and night out. We just hope that our habits are much stronger than our opponents on any given day,鈥� Staley said.
Ahead of its matchup with fellow No. 1 seed Louisville, Staley and junior forward Aliyah Boston were rewarded for their outstanding 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s as the pair swept the Naismith awards ceremony on Wednesday.
Staley earned her second Naismith Coach of the Year award in the past three 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s and Boston took home the Naismith Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Junior guard Zia Cooke said she was excited for both her coach and teammate.
鈥淎liyah, I definitely thought that she deserved it 100%, and even if she didn鈥檛 get the award, to us she would鈥檝e been our player of the year. And coach, she鈥檚 the GOAT, so I kind of figured she was going to get it,鈥� Cooke said with a smile.
Despite the honors, Staley emphasized how important it has been for each player on the team to buy in to the team while putting individual desires aside.
鈥淓very single player, we鈥檝e asked to make a sacrifice to make this year special. And, you know, sometimes that鈥檚 playing a whole lot, sometimes that鈥檚 playing a little, sometimes it's not playing at all,鈥� Staley explained.
Staley said her team is used to playing under pressure, noting that the current class of juniors has experienced this throughout their careers and knows they will be met with each opponent鈥檚 best effort.
鈥淲e got a poised group, we got a really focused core group of players who, they just want to win, they鈥檙e smart, they know what鈥檚 coming,鈥� Staley said.
The matchup between the Gamecocks and the Cardinals will be played on Friday at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to the challenge of playing Louisville because there are only four teams standing, and we鈥檙e very, very lucky to be matched up against each other,鈥� Staley said. 鈥淪o, I鈥檓 looking for an exciting semifinals and may the best team win.鈥�