Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks played the TCU Horned Frogs in the Elite Eight matchup today. The Gamecocks continued their dominant run, outscoring TCU across four quarters to win the game 78-52.
Staley’s team has now advanced to the Final Four matchup, where they will face the UConn Huskies on Friday at PHX Arena in Phoenix. Joyce Edwards led the team against TCU with 24 points, shooting 10 of 20 from the field, and had 12 rebounds.
Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson also contributed in double digits, but the star of the show was Agot Makeer, who came off the bench to drop 18 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the field. She also had four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Makeer’s contribution was acknowledged by Aliyah Boston, the former South Carolina star who now plays for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA.
“Agot hoopin tonightttt,” she posted on X with two fire emojis.
With this win over TCU, South Carolina is now in the Final Four. After the game, Staley talked about what it means to be in the Final Four and how much work it actually takes for a team to get this deep into March Madness.
“I think this is our sixth in a row but it really doesn’t feel like that because the work that it requires for you to get to this place it’s, it’s, it’s a lot,” she said. “A game day is the easiest, the easiest time of our day.”
“It is what you have to do to prepare players, you know, who are going through whatever they go through, ’cause they go through things.”
Staley said that players and coaches have their own lives and things that they have to deal with on a daily basis. So, when they all come together to practice and prepare, they have to give their 100% to be game-ready.
Dawn Staley on How Recruitment Has Changed
Ahead of the Elite Eight matchup against TCU, Staley talked about how recruitment has changed for programs over the last few years. She said it’s all about money now, and other important benefits have taken a backseat.
“How much is it going to cost us? That’s the conversation. You’ve got to lead with that,” she said. “Because you don’t really want to waste your time. You either are going to have enough to pay players, or you don’t. And you move on.”
Although the changes are inevitable and Staley is adapting to the change, her priority is to provide a degree to her players when they graduate, in addition to giving them a platform to sharpen their talent.
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