South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s No. 2 Gamecocks were beaten 66-64 by the No. 4 Texas Longhorns in the Players’ Era Festival championship game on Thanksgiving. The loss was the Gamecocks’ first of the season (7-1), but during her postgame news conference, Staley turned heads when she revealed that she was not upset with the result.
Analyst Echoes Dawn Staley’s Lack of Concern After USC Loss
During Sunday’s segment of the “South Carolina Sideline” podcast, analyst Matt Dowell echoed Staley’s words about not being overly worried by the Gamecocks’ loss to the Longhorns.
“They do go into a much kinder non-conference part,” Dowell said. “They do play Louisville, another ranked matchup. I think South Carolina will be heavy favorites in that game and then I expect them to cruise the rest of the way until SEC play starts. Dawn Staley said she’s not bothered by this loss. I’m not bothered either.
“I think South Carolina’s gonna be fine. They’re only gonna get better and I think it’s a good loss for USC. With all the new pieces, all the new faces, all the new rotations, I’ve actually been really impressed by South Carolina early in the season. Losing by two when you’re not playing well, that’s a good sign.”
Last season, coach Vic Schaefer’s Longhorns pushed the Gamecocks to the limit, finishing with identical conference records, forcing a coin toss to determine the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. Staley’s Gamecocks beat the Longhorns in the SEC Tournament championship game and later in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Staley Sees the Positives Despite USC Loss
During her postgame news conference after the loss against Texas, Staley instead expressed her optimism about how her new-look team handled the game against a ranked opponent.
“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,” Staley said. “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.”
Staley’s Gamecocks lost star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending injury before the season tipped off, and Ashlyn Watkins, who had been dealing with injury issues, opted to take the season off, leaving South Carolina light in the experience department.