Undefeated South Carolina's Dawn Staley still 'worried every day' - ESPN

ALBANY, N.Y. — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley has walked a fine line this season between instilling confidence in her players and being realistic about challenges the Gamecocks faced after losing six key players — five of them starters — from last year.

Which is why, despite being undefeated and a victory away from the program's fourth consecutive women's Final Four appearance, Staley said Saturday, «I'm worried every day. Every day. Every single day. They're still very young. They've had young moments. They've had mature moments. They've had questionable moments.

»But we sit here where we are. I don't lose sight of not giving them the credit that they deserve being in this place. We're a really good basketball team that can have some moments."

South Carolina, 35-0 and the No. 1 overall seed, faces No. 3 seed Oregon State in the Albany 1 Regional final Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ABC) to secure a trip to Cleveland for the national semifinals. It would be the sixth Final Four appearance for the Gamecocks, all under Staley. They won the national championship in 2017 and 2022 and were favored to do that again last season as they entered the NCAA tournament undefeated.

A national semifinal loss to Iowa ended that quest, and most of the team's experienced players moved on, including WNBA No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston. After being ranked No. 6 in the 2023-24 preseason Associated Press poll, South Carolina went to No. 1 after the first week of the regular season and has been there since.

Still, the Gamecocks have had some close calls in March. They needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to defeat Tennessee 74-73 in the SEC tournament semifinals March 9. A 3-pointer with under a minute left Friday here in Albany helped