South Carolina's Dawn Staley explains missing national anthem before Final Four game

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South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley won her second championship on Sunday night when the Gamecocks knocked off UConn, 64-49.

Staley and South Carolina took some heat following Friday’s Final Four win over Louisville for the team not being on the floor for the national anthem. She said it was simply a timing issue.

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Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks holds up the national championship trophy after defeating the UConn Huskies, 64-49, on April 3, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The team was on the floor locked arm and arm for "The Star-Spangled Banner" before tip-off on Sunday.

"I don't know who wrote an article about our players not being out on the court for the national anthem. We're just creatures of habit, creatures of habit. I think the national anthem was played at the 12- or 10-minute mark, and that's just not the time that we're out on the court because of our pregame ritual," Staley said. "If the national anthem is at 0:00 like it was today, we were out there standing for the national anthem.

"So whoever that person, journalist was that wrote that, please do your research, ask the questions before you go out and write an article, and then I'm called all kinds of names, our players are called all kinds of names. Before you do that, please fact check and don't put us under the gun like that because it was a distraction for us. I didn't let it be a distraction, but it was a distraction.

Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks answers questions after a win over the Connecticut Huskies on April 3, 2022 in