Womens NCAA championship south carolina dawn staley win third championship - ESPN

CLEVELAND — Dressed in a Louis Vuitton metallic-silver jacket, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had a golden afternoon in Cleveland, and was moved to tears after an emotional group hug with her team and players. After a difficult end to last season, the Gamecocks had a perfect 38-0 finish on Sunday.

«They weren't going to be denied,» Staley said as confetti fell around her at the conclusion of the Gamecocks' 87-75 national championship victory over Iowa. «It doesn't always end like you want it to end. I'm just super proud of where I work. It's unbelievable.

The moment was a stark contrast to a year ago, when another perfect South Carolina season came to a crashing halt as Iowa — yes, the same team the Gamecocks beat Sunday — upended them in Dallas in the national semifinals.

»You have to let young people be who they are," Staley said. «But you also have to guide and navigate them. They made history. They etched their names in the history books.»

That South Carolina team was an even heavier favorite, with former national player of the year and future No. 1 WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston and four other senior starters. After the devastating loss, Staley told her team in the locker room how much she appreciated them.

«And those of us who were graduating, we went around the room and were talking to each of the returning players,» Boston said. «Just to say, 'We know you guys got this next year.'

»And now here we are."

This year, in what might be Staley's best performance on the sideline, she was named national coach of the year not just because her team went unbeaten — the 10th women's team to do so in the NCAA era — but how she did it. South Carolina is the first team in the past 25 seasons to reach the Final Four, let alone