South Carolina’s national title represents a release after historic season
Zia Cooke leaped onto the instant replay table Sunday night in the Target Center as the South Carolina Gamecocks became national champions.
With tears welled up in her eyes, the junior guard released an impassioned yell from the depths of her chest.
“Let’s go!”
Cooke’s burst of emotion represented that release felt by a team that spent the entire 2021-22 season ranked No. 1 in the country, with metaphorical targets painted on their backs and memories of last year’s Final Four loss lingering in the back of their minds.
Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks were reminded often of last year’s heartbreaking lost to Stanford at the NCAA tournament in San Antonio.
Staley, Cooke and everyone around South Carolina women’s basketball had nothing but smiles to flash the cameras in Minneapolis, as the Gamecocks defeated 2-seed UConn 64-49 to become national champions.
The Gamecocks carried a steady, locked-in mindset throughout the entirety of their 2021-22 campaign. They lost twice, in an SEC opener to Missouri and in the SEC tournament finals to Kentucky, but never strayed from the ultimate goal: winning the national title.
This year’s NCAA tournament run started with record-breaking defensive efforts and ended with a meeting against one of the sport’s most storied programs — Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies.
Much like the season in which it never strayed from its focus, South Carolina never trailed in the title game.
The Gamecocks captured their second national championship in program history and their second under Staley. When asked if she’d call it a dynasty, the 51-year-old Staley didn’t think USC should be in the conversation yet. Auriemma, who is 68, has won 11 national championships with UConn, and Staley said she wouldn’t be coaching long enough to reach his number.
Creating a dynasty wasn’t the catalyst driving the Gamecocks to their second title. The drive to write South Carolina women’s basketball history had a part in it, Staley said.
Aliyah Boston set an SEC record of 27 straight double-doubles. South Carolina’s 35 wins are now the most in program history. Staley’s Gamecocks were the first to beat national championship coaches Auriemma, LSU’s Kim Mulkey and Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer in one season.
The history was, in fact, written.
Throughout its national championship run, South Carolina didn’t look ahead. Whether their opponent was 16-seed Howard or 1-seed Louisville, the Gamecocks stressed the fact they only looked at one game at a time.
Never looking back. Never looking too far forward, either.
Pressure might have mounted. Distractions might have come up. But that ultimate goal — the one Staley had been mentioning since the preseason in October — was realized Sunday night.
When all was said and done, Cooke’s burst of emotion at the season’s final buzzer said it all. Any pressure has been released. The Gamecocks achieved their goal.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 8:49 AM.
