Look who’s shouting out Gamecock WBB: Angel Reese, LeBron James and Empire State Bldg
LSU star Angel Reese had many on-court battles with South Carolina during her college career. On Sunday she was singing the Gamecocks’ praises.
South Carolina defeated Iowa, 87-75, to win the school’s third national championship and become the first team since 2016 to complete a season undefeated at 38-0.
After the game, Reese took to X (formerly Twitter) to acknowledge USC coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks.
“I’m sooo happy for @dawnstaley!! As a black woman, I admire what you’ve done! You always checked on me & always loved me like your own,” Reese wrote.
The Gamecocks defeated LSU twice this season, including in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Reese wasn’t the only high-profile celebrity or athlete talking about the Gamecocks and Iowa matchup Sunday.
NBA great LeBron James also was posting on social media, heaping praise for Gamecock guard Tessa Johnson, who led USC with 19 points and had a couple of big 3-pointers.
“Tessa Johnson cooking!!” James wrote.
Actor Samuel L Jackson shouted out Staley and Florence native Pearl Moore, who scored 4,061 points in her career at Francis Marion.
“THANK YOU COACH DAWN‼️‼️ THANK YOU SC BALLERS‼️‼️‼️ Ion know boutchall, but DAMN I needed that‼️‼️‼️ Somewhere I hope Pearl Moore is smiling,” Jackson wrote.
The Gamecocks’ win helped former Gamecock great Deebo Samuel win a bet with his San Francisco 49er teammate George Kittle, an Iowa grad who’s been spotted at several Hawkeyes women’s games.
“@gkittle46 week 1 outfit gone be so clean on you!!!!” Samuel wrote.
Other social media mentions of the Gamecocks’ championship included former President Barack Obama; current Vice President Kamala Harris, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, S.C. native and musician Darius Rucker, who was in Cleveland for the weekend; the Atlanta Braves; and the social media account of the Empire State Building in New York City.
The Empire State building said it would change the top of building’s colors to garnet and black following USC’s win.
Johnson called the Gamecocks’ squad one of the best teams in women’s basketball history and individually mentioned most of the USC roster.
“This team will go down as one of the greatest to have ever played! The bench was impressive all season long, throughout the tournament, and gave an electric spark to South Carolina’s offense,” Johnson wrote.
This story was originally published April 7, 2024 at 6:59 PM.
