TAMPA, Fla. — South Carolina women's basketball is heading back to the national championship for the second consecutive season and for the third time since 2022.
The No. 1 Gamecocks (34-3) will face the winner between No. 2 UConn and No. 1 UCLA, two teams that beat them in the regular season. But coach Dawn Staley is 3-0 in national title games.
After taking down No. 1 Texas 74-57 in the Final Four on Friday in Amalie Arena, Staley was asked about her undefeated statistic heading into the championship game Sunday (3 p.m., ABC).
"I don't even bring it up," Staley said. "It's just singularly focused on winning a game. Nothing that happened prior to here is going to help us on Sunday − nothing. If it's UConn, it's not going to help us. If it's UCLA, not going to help us."
The Huskies (35-3) beat South Carolina by 29 points in Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 16, but if they do advance past UCLA, it would be a rematch of the 2022 national title game. The Gamecocks beat UConn 64-49 to win the program's second title.
On Nov. 24, the Bruins (34-2) handed them their first loss since March 31, 2023, snapping the undefeated streak that included the 2024 national championship season.
Staley's first title was in 2017, when current WNBA-star A'ja Wilson, who was in attendance on Friday night, beat Vic Schaefer when he was coaching Mississippi State. Schaefer is now with Texas (35-4), and finished the 2024-25 season with a 1-3 record against Staley and South Carolina.
For seniors Sania Feagin, Bree Hall and redshirt junior Raven Johnson, Sunday will mark their third title game in four years with the program.
