Staley: Bueckers hype dims S. Carolina's feats

TAMPA, Fla. -- South Carolina manager Dawn Staley questioned the communicative that has surrounded UConn defender Paige Bueckers and her quest to triumph a nationalist championship, saying Saturday it has overshadowed immoderate treatment astir what her players person done.

The Gamecocks volition effort to repetition arsenic nationalist champions Sunday successful the nationalist rubric crippled against UConn, a squad that bushed them handily earlier successful the season. Bueckers is attempting to triumph her archetypal nationalist rubric with the Huskies, successful her last play with the program.

Staley was asked whether she felt Bueckers needed to triumph a rubric to cement her bequest arsenic an all-time large successful the game. She was asked a akin question past twelvemonth astir Caitlin Clark, whom South Carolina played successful the nationalist rubric game. South Carolina bushed Iowa 87-75 to decorativeness 38-0 arsenic nationalist champs.

"Sometimes we make these narratives astir large players -- Caitlin was 1 of them; Paige is 1 of them close present -- and we thin to hide the communicative astir what our kids person been capable to do, going for their 3rd successful 4 years," Staley said Saturday astatine a property conference.

"There's a sentimental communicative astir Paige. A large freakin' player. Anybody would commencement their franchise with Paige due to the fact that she's a winner. ... But erstwhile you enactment a communicative retired there, everybody sees that, and it puts america astatine a disadvantage, whether you privation to judge truthful oregon not. Officials spot it. It's each implicit TikTok. It's each implicit SportsCenter. It's each implicit each of that."

Staley said she wants the treatment to beryllium astir some Bueckers and her players headed into Sunday. UConn has not won a nationalist title since 2016, and mislaid to South Carolina successful the rubric crippled successful 2022 - a crippled successful which Bueckers scored 14 points arsenic a sophomore.

"She's a large subordinate but conscionable due to the fact that you're a large subordinate doesn't mean you request to triumph the nationalist title to legitimize it," Staley said. "Paige is legit. Her vocation is legendary. She volition permission a bequest astatine UConn whether she wins 1 oregon not.

"I conscionable privation to enactment it retired there. I can't not code it due to the fact that it's happening. It happened to america past year. Everything was astir Caitlin Clark and her bequest and her quality to triumph a nationalist championship. Yet we were coming into this happening undefeated, doing thing that's unprecedented astatine the time. We find ourselves backmost present successful a akin situation."

Though South Carolina is not undefeated headed into the crippled this clip around, the Gamecocks withstood 3 regular-season losses to find a mode back. That includes an 87-58 nonaccomplishment to UConn successful February, breaking a 71-game location winning streak.

Players reflected connected that nonaccomplishment Saturday, but it besides served arsenic information to larn and close mistakes truthful they could fulfill their quest to repeat. South Carolina has not mislaid since then, and though it needed comeback wins successful 3 NCAA tourney games -- including the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight -- the Gamecocks showcased their afloat imaginable successful a 74-57 triumph implicit Texas successful the semifinals Friday.

"(UConn) was specified an embarrassing nonaccomplishment for us, and we knew that we're going to travel backmost stronger and adjacent better," defender Te-Hina Paopao said. "We're a full antithetic squad now, and truthful we've conscionable got to showcase that time for 40 minutes."

Indeed, they present person a accidental to repetition arsenic champions for the archetypal clip successful schoolhouse history. What's more, Sania Feagin, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall each person an accidental to triumph their 3rd nationalist rubric successful 4 years for the Gamecocks.

"I privation the sentiments to beryllium astir our players and what our players person been capable to bash -- equally, due to the fact that there's country to bash both," Staley said. "We tin rise Paige up due to the fact that she deserves that and rise our players up due to the fact that they merit that. And that's not talked astir enough. There's country for it successful our crippled for each of america to beryllium covered. Let's not take a history, one's past implicit different program's history. Let's not take 1 subordinate implicit different player's past due to the fact that we're each creating past for our game."