What Dawn Staley said after No. 3 Gamecocks’ dominant win over Tennessee
South Carolina women’s basketball delivered Tennessee the worst loss in program history on Sunday.
The No. 3 Gamecocks beat the Lady Vols 93-50 to improve to 24-2 (10-1 SEC) on the year.
Here are some of the highlights from South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley’s post-game press conference:
Controlling the SEC race
South Carolina and Tennessee entered the game with one SEC loss each. But now South Carolina has sole possession of the top spot in the conference.
The win over Tennessee moves the Gamecocks’ record in conference play to 10-1. Tennessee, now the Lady Vols 7-2 in the SEC, are in a three-way tie for second with Texas and Vanderbilt.
South Carolina now controls its own destiny in the race for an SEC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks have some wiggle room ahead of its biggest game in conference play next week at LSU. USC has the tiebreaker over Texas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee — if the Gamecocks were to lose to LSU on Sunday and be tied for second in the SEC standings.
Staley said the mindset doesn’t change for her team the rest of the season.
“It’s the same role for us,” Staley said. “It’s the same exact role where we’ve been the top team in this league and taking on everybody’s best. I’m hoping it works, adversely, for our opponents. Like, they play so hard that it gets them out of whack. I hope we just stay calm with dealing with the wave of pressure that comes with this normal pressure. It’s the normal pressure of being at the top of our conference, being a team that’s won a national championship. We get people’s best. So I hope at some point it backfires.”
On the success of the zone defense
During Staley’s 18-year tenure at South Carolina the Gamecocks have been at their best when their defense is dominant. Typically, that comes in the fashion of a man-to-man system with some zone defense every once in a while.
On Sunday, South Carolina leaned on its zone defense heavily. And It worked.
“We actually wanted to sprinkle in some zone,” Staley said. “But because it was going so well, we just stayed with it. I don’t think, in my 26-year career, that I played more zone than what we played today. But, I’m not stubborn enough to not go with what’s working. So it was working today and we stayed with it, and I thought it impacted the game.”
Tennessee shot 28.1% from the field as a team in the game and made just 10 of its 44 attempted 3-pointers. Tennessee was limited to 16 points in the paint and just 11 fast break points. The Lady Volunteers also turned the ball over 19 times.
Staley said her players have grown fond of playing zone defense and knows it adds another tool to throw at opponents once March Madness rolls around.
“They get excited to play the zone because they have to chase everybody around,” Staley said. “And I think the more success we have with it, the more they are wanting to play it. Now, I hope we don’t get too comfortable with it, because at some point we’re going to have to match up and play some type of defense that we’re used to playing. Because they’re going to scout us and they’re going to find holes in it. But I think if we can use it properly, where we spot it, here or there, or if it’s going well, and some offenses have some difficulty in moving the ball and giving the things that they want.”
Ta’Niya Latson’s return
South Carolina’s star guard Ta’Niya Latson returned to action vs Tennessee and showed no signs of rust.
Latson scored a team-high 21 points and was 9-for-15 from the field. She also tallied four steals in 29 minutes of action.
Ta’Niya Latson left South Carolina’s game vs Auburn on Jan. 29 and missed the last two games with a lower leg injury. She played Sunday’s game with a brace on her knee.
Staley credited the program’s trainers and medical staff for getting Latson in a good headspace and ready to play against Tennessee.
“I think that the knee brace gave her some security,” Staley said. “I think our medical staff, our athletic trainers, our performance coach – when players just have any type of pain — they have to activate. They have to give our players a certain level of comfort knowing that if they go back out there, they’re not going to injure themselves to the point of putting them out for a long period of time. So they got her in a comfortable mindset.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2026 at 7:57 PM.
