Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina's NCAA Tournament win over Indiana

South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media following the team’s 64-53 win over Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Here’s everything she had to say.

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Opening statement

“(I) just want to say congratulations to Indiana for making it to the second round and giving us a hard-fought game. We knew coming in it would be very similar to the basketball that was displayed out there for the last two hours.

“(I’m) proud of our team, the way they gutted up and didn’t flinch. It wasn’t pretty, but at this time, it doesn’t have to be. You’ve just got to score more points than the other team and work the kinks out as we advance into the tournament.”

On the conversation that kickstarted South Carolina’s third-quarter scoring run

“Well, they just told me ‘Pao’ (Te-Hina Paopao) calmed them down, but I’m sure it was amongst nine to ten other voices talking. It’s just a day care – that’s what I’m referencing. It’s not like a board meeting where there’s one person talking at a time. It is chaos.

“I was glad to see they actually stopped and listened to her because what she says is coming from being an experienced player that’s been through this process, and we need her voice.”

On how Staley felt about South Carolina’s first half

“It’s a little unnerving because it’s not how you envision execution. I thought we were getting great looks. They just wouldn’t fall.

“For us, if we’re going to get the same type of looks, we’re probably going to be in good shape. Chloe (Kitts) and (Sania) Feagin – I think they were 0 for 10 – and then, I think Joyce (Edwards) made one lay-up, and that was off of a broken play. ‘Lay’ (MiLaysia Fulwiley) got a steal and tossed it back to her, and she made (a shot). We’re a very efficient post group of bigs. So, sooner or later, somebody is going to get on course to do what they normally do.

“I think we settled in. I think our defense got a lot better in the third quarter and afforded us a lead to the point where we just held on and got the win.”

On Paopao’s defensive performance

“Pao’s defense was great. It was executed to a T. That young lady – I don’t want to butcher her last name, we just call her Shay – Shay (Ciezki) does a really good job going left. She is unconscious going left. She is super efficient, and ‘Pao’ just sat on her left hand, forced her right. I think she got 12 points, but she would have gotten a lot more if she would have got into the flow of going left.

“I thought she did a great job. We told her that in the locker room. I’m happy that we’re helping to complete ‘Pao.’ Because for the longest (time), her reputation is, ‘She can just flat-out shoot the ball.’ She’s a consummate point guard, and I don’t think her defense gets enough credit in the past two years that she’s been with us because it’s gotten better, and better, and better. And then, she had performances like she did today.”

On how important it is for South Carolina to get points from its veteran players

“It’s huge. I mean, we have to lean on our most experienced players. They’ve been here before. They’ve done it time and time again, through being on the court or just seeing it from sitting on the bench. That is experience, being in these situations.

“We don’t take any of that for granted. We didn’t think we were just going to walk over two opponents in the first and second round, but getting to a Sweet 16 is hard. It’s hard. And to do it in as many consecutive years as we’ve done it, it doesn’t get old. It’s not taken for granted, and we cherish the opportunity to move to the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament.”

On the process to get South Carolina’s players and coaching staff ready for NCAA Tournament

“I think it’s really important to balance the rest part of it, balance the active recovery, balance the film sessions and balance, really, how much the players are locked in. We read the room when it comes to them. If they’re focused, our time on the court is probably cut in half. If they’re not, we’ll probably have more film sessions. I think we did one drill yesterday where we just went up and down. It was at the very beginning – it’s a conditioning drill we do every day before a game – and then, everything was just half court, just making sure we’re able to execute what we need to execute.

“They are a fine oiled machine. They run their stuff; they execute it. They’ve got you working on both sides of the court when we’re on defense. (They’re) just well-rounded and calculated and deliberate in what they want to do. So, they’re exhausting. I know our players are exhausted. But it takes that to beat a team like Indiana.”

On how Paopao has developed on defense over the past two seasons

“I mean, it’s developed over the past two years probably from her being targeted. They go after her; they put her in ball screen actions. They target her to be able to defend; they wear her out so her shot isn’t as fluid in the third and fourth quarters. And then, you get tired of hearing it: ‘Hey, Pao, you’re up. They’re coming after you.’ You hear it over and over again.

“And then, we give her ways in which you can decrease the amount of times that people are getting what they want on the floor. She’s taking heat and just getting better. We’re a culture of playing defense, and if you don’t play it, you stick out. ‘Pao’ is not one that wants to stick out in that way.”

On the commitment of South Carolina’s traveling fans

“I mean, it’s like no other. The unity that’s created in this building – and we do take that act on the road – it’s quite incredible. It’s overwhelming; it’s so much. It’s so good that, trying to describe it, it does it a disservice. But they were loud in that third quarter. They had the energy. They were trying to force us into playing to our habits, even in the first quarter and the second quarter.

“What we’ve been able to do, it’s not a marketing scheme because it’s not that. It really isn’t. If it’s that easy, everybody would be doing it. We would bottle it up and we would sell it to the next basketball program. You’ll hear a season ticket holder buying 10 other season tickets to bring other people in, and those other 10 will become season ticket holders. It’s just a trickle-down effect to the point where this is really the place to be when it comes to women’s basketball. It’s entertainment; it’s developing and creating friendships. It is unified.

“You look into our arena, and you can see every seat filled, It’s of every background – like, every single ethnic background. We’ve won national championships, but I would say that we’ve been champions in uniting people, and that is super proud. That’s the thing that I’m most proud of. That’s the thing that’s kept me here for 17 years. To walk away from what we’ve built here would be extremely hard – like, extremely hard. I think it’s just unmatched.”

On South Carolina’s players using their voices in the locker room

“Yeah, some of it makes sense now. It does. Like, some of it is things that we really have to do to lock in on getting a win. There are things that they discuss that create separation for us, or there are things that we’re doing positively that we must continue to do. So, you’ll hear that.

“But you still hear 13 voices talking at the same time. They’ve probably conditioned themselves to be able to compartmentalize and just hear everything and know the gist of what the chaos is, but it sounds like chaos to us.”

On what has kept Indiana from reaching upper echelon of women’s basketball programs

“I mean, Teri (Moren) can coach. She can really coach. She does a really great job at getting her players to play to their strengths.

“Obviously, some of it is luck. Some of it is matchups. Like, it really is, when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. I think you just have to keep plugging. She’s got the talent. She’s got the assistant coaches pool of people. You’ve just got to get lucky.”

On what was said in the locker room ahead of South Carolina’s comeback

“I think, when we’re down at halftime – which is not very often – you want to keep the same energy that you have when you’re up. We’ve got an experienced group of players that really know what needs to take place in order for us to correct what was going on out there. Part of it was just we missed good shots; part of it was we missed bad shots. Part of it was our defense wasn’t hitting on all cylinders.

“The game is 40 minutes. I think, within that time frame, we can get to our good habits, and we did that coming out of halftime. In the third quarter, we got a chance to get Chloe on the floor, keep her on the floor a little bit longer than we did in the first half. She actually, when she got her second foul, she was like, ‘I was ball pressuring.’ You were not only ball pressuring, you were fouling. Like, stay in the game, Chloe.”

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