Dawn Staley - 'The juice is in the winning the national championship'

DALLAS — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said her team has not found any extra motivation in going against Naismith and AP Player of the Year Caitlin Clark headed into their Final Four matchup against Iowa on Friday.

Asked whether her players had any extra juice because they want to show their teammate, forward Aliyah Boston, is the best player in the country, Staley said, «The juice is in the winning the national championship.

»Our players don't really care about anything besides that. We're strong in our beliefs and what we do and how we've done things, and at this point, we just want to win, and that's their approach. I love them for that. They're not letting any one thing or any one person distract them from the goal at hand."

No. 1 South Carolina (36-0) is on a quest to finish the first perfect season in school history, and win their second straight national championship. Boston and Clark have garnered the biggest headlines headed into their game, as the reigning (Clark) and past (Boston) players of the year.

Clark won AP Player of the Year honors on Thursday, after averaging 27 points, 8.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds this season, helping the Hawkeyes (30-6) advance to their first Final Four since 1993.

Much of the discussion about the keys in the game center on the South Carolina defense against the more wide open Iowa offense.

The Gamecocks led the nation in blocks per game, offensive rebounding rate and rebounding margin. Its opponents are shooting 31.7 percent from the field this season, second-best in D-I behind Norfolk State.

Iowa, meanwhile, leads D-I in scoring (87.6 points per game) and field-goal percentage (51.1 percent).

«We're big team,» said senior guard Brea Beal. «We're a long team. I definitely think