It was a game for the ages – the perfect ending to a perfect season. Coach Dawn Staley coached her young team to a 87-75 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes to complete an 38-0 season. With the victory, the Lady Gamecocks became just the third team in college basketball history to go undefeated and win a national title.
The victory also marked USC’s third national title in the Dawn Staley era.
This year’s season was arguably her best coaching effort for the three-time Coach of the Year. Staley had to replace all five starters from last year’s team that went undefeated only to lose to Iowa in the Final Four. But in spite of the tremendous loss of talent, she was able to led the Lady Gamecocks to another undefeated season and defeat
Iowa to win the national title. “I wanted everybody to experience the joy of winning a national championship,” Staley said after the game.
South Carolina has won three titles in the last eight years, including two of the
past three, to lay claim to being the latest dynasty in women’s basketball. Staley became the fifth coach to win at least three national championships.
Over the past three seasons, the Lady Gamecocks’s record is 109-3.
