Dawn Staley critical of SEC for not spreading out matchups with Tennessee

South Carolina rallied for a 66-55 win over Tennessee Thursday night in Knoxville, but Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was surprisingly not all smiles after the game.

Staley was frustrated with the SEC, particularly with the fact that South Carolina and Tennessee will meet again in less than three weeks. She shared her frustration during her postgame press conference.

“Tennessee is getting better and better. Just want to thank the conference for scheduling them – we’ve got to play them twice the last three weeks of the conference schedule,” Dawn Staley said. “I don’t know why that happens. Like, I really don’t know how you can’t spread that out a little bit.”

South Carolina (24-0, 11-0) will play the Vols (15-9, 8-4) again on Sunday, March 3, this time in Columbia.

The Gamecocks will likely be heavy favorites for that matchup, but Staley doesn’t care. She feels that it’s unfortunate for both teams that they are playing twice so late in the season. Whichever team loses — which will likely be Tennessee — could be hurt as far as NCAA Tournament seeding.

“I mean, it’s known we’re probably going to be in the top half of the conference. So spread it out a little bit. Seriously. For both of our sakes,” Staley said. “Because their are NCAA implications on the line. Our conference should be able to control that a little bit better.”

Dawn Staley shares Kamilla Cardoso’s emotions upon return to South Carolina

South Carolina is still undefeated, despite having to play a couple of games recently without All-American candidate Kamilla Cardoso.

The 6-foot-7 standout missed the Gamecocks’ wins over Missouri and UConn last week while she was competing in the Olympic qualifiers for Brazil’s national team.

Cardoso was not able to push her national team to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. Nonetheless, she did earn a spot on the qualifiers’ five-person All-Star team. Ahead of Cardoso’s return on Thursday against Tennessee, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley provided an update on how Cardoso was feeling.

“She’s sad. Her parents got a chance to see her play. That was a positive. But, she wanted to go to Paris,” Staley said on Wednesday. “Sometimes, when you don’t get what you want and your heart desires, it makes you a little upset. But hopefully, she can help us stay on the winning track.”

Cardoso did just that, leading South Carolina to a 66-55 win. She scored 18 points, with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in the victory.