Is South Carolina women’s basketball a budding dynasty? All the pieces are there
Did South Carolina’s second national championship win usher in the “Dawn” of a new dynasty in women’s college basketball? Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston said she thinks it could.
“Over the past couple years, you’ve just been able to see this program and how it just continues to grow,” Boston said after USC’s 64-49 national championship win over Geno Auriemma’s UConn. “I think it’s just a school that kids are going to want to come to because of the atmosphere that we have here. Our fans are the best. Coach (Dawn) Staley is one of the best coaches. She has a great coaching staff, and they just continue to push us every single day.”
Naturally, the dynasty conversation popped up after South Carolina’s 2022 championship win because the Gamecocks defeated the storied Huskies on their way to a second title under head coach Staley.
Auriemma was 11-0 in national title games before Sunday’s loss to South Carolina, which improved to 2-0 in national championship matchups. The Gamecocks have now reached reached back-to-back Final Fours, and they’ve advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 or better for eight consecutive seasons, with the exception of the 2019-20 tournament canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But when asked if she felt the Gamecocks are in the dynasty conversation, Staley had a different answer than Boston, who swept this season’s national Player of the Year honors.
“I don’t think winning two national championships or going to the Final Four back-to-back is considered a dynasty in my day and age,” Staley said. “Aliyah and social media, yeah, they think they’re doing something really good. But just look at the tradition of UConn and what they were able to do. They’re the standard.”
Staley has a point. At this juncture, it’s obvious South Carolina is an established powerhouse in women’s college basketball. Perhaps Staley has a budding dynasty in Columbia, but defining a present-day dynasty is more tricky.
Auriemma’s UConn won the NCAA crown four times in five years from 2000-04 and six times in eight years from 2009-16. The Huskies have made it to 14 consecutive Final Fours, a streak that continued this season and is unprecedented in the sport.
UConn’s figures are no knock on what Staley has accomplished in her 14 seasons at South Carolina. Staley has grown the Gamecocks’ fan base into the most dedicated in the country behind eight consecutive seasons leading the nation in attendance. USC women’s basketball has emerged as one of the sport’s most dominant programs today.
But who better to define whether or not the Gamecocks are a present dynasty than the head coach herself?
“If it takes winning 11 national championships to be a dynasty, I’m probably going to fall short of that, because I’m not going to be in the game long enough for us to win 11,” Staley said.
For context, Staley’s current contract at South Carolina was extended in October 2021 to run through the 2027-28 season.
The debate around whether or not Staley’s Gamecocks have reached dynasty status doesn’t take away from the historical impact of the 2021-22 South Carolina women’s basketball season. The Gamecocks wrote their own history this year, just as Staley had hoped they would.
A number of this year’s feats — USC’s program-record 35 wins, becoming the first team to take down Auriemma, Kim Mulkey and Tara VanDerveer in one season, Boston’s SEC record 27 consecutive double-doubles and Staley’s arrival as the first Black coach to win multiple titles in men’s or women’s college basketball — all place the 2021-22 Gamecocks in the history books.
South Carolina will grapple with some key departures next year, including starting point guard Destanni Henderson and key reserve LeLe Grissett, but the returning talent could easily reload Staley’s Gamecocks into their third consecutive Final Four season.
USC’s dominant junior class, which includes Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere, has one more year left in Columbia. Senior forward Victaria Saxton confirmed Wednesday that she’ll be returning for a fifth year, cementing four of the five championship-winning starters will be back on the roster.
Staley will also add two espnW top-20 prospects with Ashlyn Watkins and Talaysia Cooper next season. USC also acquired Georgia Tech guard Kierra Fletcher out of the transfer portal, much like she did with 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso out of Syracuse last season.
The answer to South Carolina’s dynasty question is complicated, but it’s hard to deny that the Gamecocks have all the pieces to continue to build upon what has already been established.
Only time — and championships — will tell.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
