By Marlee Ressa | @marleeressa
Sports Capital Journalism Program
TAMPA – “Anytime your season ends in a loss, it should light a fire,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said after her team’s 82-59 loss to UConn in the national title game.
This was the third time in four years that the Gamecocks have been in the national championship game. Unlike their two previous runs in 2022 and 2024, South Carolina lost.
Staley thought UConn had beaten her team convincingly. “We tried to throw a lot at them,” she said, “and they rose above it all. They rose above it all.”
Staley was not the only one to commend the UConn team. The South Carolina student-athletes also recognized their competitors’ skills.
“They ran their stuff. They didn’t back down from us.” sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley said, “I [felt] like we came out on the same level, but we didn’t keep it going. We didn’t keep it up.”
Despite the 23-point loss, there was a sense of resilience among the Gamecocks in their locker room. They made it to the Final Four for the fifth time consecutively, and won the championship three times, in 2017, 2022 and 2024.
It was clear the returning players were already mentally preparing to make that sixth consecutive Final Four appearance next year in Phoenix and seniors were grateful for their experiences playing for the Gamecocks.
“I keep saying we aren’t done yet,” sophomore guard Tessa Johnson said with apparent determination, “it’s not the end of the world, and… yeah, we’re gonna fight.”
Freshman Maddy McDaniel believes in taking information shared by departing seniors and putting it into action. “They taught a lot discipline-wise,” McDaniel said, “How to keep our head up and play with some poise… it has been such a learning experience for me.”
Senior guard Bree Hall cherishes her time at South Carolina, despite the loss today, and leaves the Gamecocks with two national titles.
“They will be back here – next year,” Hall said with confidence, “I’m saying it, next year… I believe in them.”
Guards Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson hope that this loss will fuel the Gamecocks fire and resilience. Much like Hall, the two are confident that South Carolina will do well next year without them.
Johnson is currently undecided on whether she will return to South Carolina next year. She is eligible for a redshirt year and is also eligible to enter the WNBA draft. When a reporter asked if today’s loss has the potential to change her decision on entering the draft, Johnson answered, “Yeah, it [does]… because I would like to end on a good note.”
For Paopao, who ended her collegiate career today, the run with South Carolina will stay with her forever. “I’m going to take our relationships and our joy together…,” she said, “because they have brought so much life into me.”
While Staley prepares to say goodbye to her seniors, she is hopeful about the returning players’ mindset, “I think they got a great experience of playing at this level [and] I hope they have [the] desire to get back here and do all the things it takes to play in a national championship game and to deliver the blows that [are] needed to win.”
