Staley - Bueckers narrative overshadows South Carolina's feats - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley questioned the narrative that has surrounded UConn guard Paige Bueckers and her quest to win a national championship, saying Saturday it has overshadowed any discussion about what her players have done.

The Gamecocks will attempt to repeat as national champions Sunday in the national title game against UConn, a team that beat them handily earlier in the season. Bueckers is attempting to win her first national title with the Huskies, in her final season with the program.

Staley was asked whether she felt Bueckers needed to win a title to cement her legacy as an all-time great in the game. She was asked a similar question last year about Caitlin Clark, whom South Carolina played in the national title game. South Carolina beat Iowa 87-75 to finish 38-0 as national champs.

«Sometimes we create these narratives about great players — Caitlin was one of them; Paige is one of them right now — and we tend to forget the narrative about what our kids have been able to do, going for their third in four years,» Staley said Saturday at a press conference.

«There's a sentimental narrative about Paige. A great freakin' player. Anybody would start their franchise with Paige because she's a winner.… But when you put a narrative out there, everybody sees that, and it puts us at a disadvantage, whether you want to believe so or not. Officials see it. It's all over TikTok. It's all over SportsCenter. It's all over all of that.»

Staley said she wants the discussion to be about both Bueckers and her players headed into Sunday. UConn has not won a national championship since 2016, and lost to South Carolina in the title game in 2022 — a game in which Bueckers scored 14 points as a sophomore.

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