Guided by the ultimate goal, South Carolina’s national championship moment arrives
The top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks had this moment on their minds before the first tip of the season.
Back in October, USC head coach Dawn Staley directed the Gamecocks to keep their minds locked on the ultimate goal: winning the national championship.
The Gamecocks get a direct shot at the goal when they face Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies in the 2022 national championship game Sunday night.
South Carolina was a putback away from reaching last year’s championship, and every member of that roster returned hungry with the memories of that heartbreaking loss to Stanford in the Final Four.
This year’s trip to the Final Four round was kicked off with a semifinal win over Louisville at the Target Center, advancing the Gamecocks to the game they narrowly missed out on last season.
The moment is here, and South Carolina’s players are taking it in. But they know the work isn’t done.
“I feel (it) in the moment, yes,” senior point guard Destanni Henderson said. “But the next day it’s right back to business, just to make sure I stay focused and not try to get too ahead of myself.”
The Gamecocks have bought into Staley’s system, taking on roles without veering from the team’s focus.
Star forward Aliyah Boston won four national player of the year awards in Minneapolis but made it clear she won’t be satisfied without a national championship. Guard Brea Beal has maintained her role as a defensive specialist, embracing her part as South Carolina’s “glue.”
The moment is about securing a national title for the 2021-22 Gamecocks, but it’s also rooted in the desire to create history for South Carolina women’s basketball.
Fielding questions one day before her Gamecocks meet up with UConn for the 2022 national title, Staley said it’s all come down to putting USC’s history over all of their opponents’ histories — not just the storied dynasty of Auriemma’s Huskies.
South Carolina lost twice in the 2021-22 season, falling in an overtime contest to Missouri and on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship. Staley called those historic moments for both the Tigers and Wildcats.
Now, it’s time for South Carolina to write its own history.
USC has reached four NCAA Final Fours and won the national title in 2017, all under Staley. Auriemma’s Huskies are 11-0 in national championship games — Staley’s Gamecocks are 1-0.
Much of this season’s history has already been laid out for the Gamecocks. They were ranked No. 1 in this year’s Top 25 from the preseason to the last week and entered the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed. They returned every member of a team that barely missed last year’s championship, and they added the country’s No. 1 recruiting class.
The moment Sunday night in Minneapolis against UConn will finish this season’s story. But even if it’s not South Carolina cutting the Target Center nets, Staley, in her 14th season with USC, has faith there are more moments to come.
“The last team that’s standing on Sunday night, it’s divine order. I truly believe that,” Staley said. “So if it’s not us, it’s not us. We’ll get another shot at it when it’s our turn.”
South Carolina vs UConn basketball
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (34-2) vs. No. 2 UConn Huskies (30-5)
When: Sunday, 8 p.m.
Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Watch on TV and stream: ESPN
