Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina's SEC Tournament win over Oklahoma

South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media following the team’s 93-75 win over Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday. Here’s everything she had to say.

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On Maryam Dauda’s performance against Oklahoma

“I mean, the last time we played Oklahoma, she did a pretty good job. So, coming into this game, we knew that we had that in the back pocket.

“We put a lot of pressure on (Sania) Feagin to guard bigger bodies, taller bodies. Then, Maryam (Dauda) has been putting herself in a position of not only defending, but just playing with calmness, poise. She’s starting to put it all together.

“We probably won’t see the best of her until next season. But it surely is great to just have her for her confidence to come in the game and impact – because she came in the game, impacted, drew some fouls on (Raegan) Beers. (She) played really tough.
I’m happy for her. I think she had family members here that had a chance to see her play live and do well.”

On how Kentucky performed in its first season under head coach Kenny Brooks

“He’s done a tremendous job. It’s hard, one, to be top-four in this league in the regular season. To do it with a brand new team, I mean, I was just listening. I didn’t know all of it, but I was listening to the commentators talk about bringing in 11 new players, getting them to play on one accord. They’re really good players, but they don’t play as cohesive without coaching. He’s done a great job of getting them to commit to it. When you got a point guard like Georgia Amoore, that helps put the glue between all the pieces to make it fit – and fit well.”

On the confidence MiLaysia Fulwiley has shown recently with her decision making

“I mean, she’s still very young, right? Very young, very much has played, probably, her entire life doing what she wants to do when she wants to do it, and does it well, right? Some of that transfers over to this level; some of it doesn’t. So, we have to figure out how we get her to be a better reader out there on the floor.

“What we’ve been working on with her is just to simplify – that’s one – and making layups, direct line drive layups, utilizing her speed. When she has the ball, there’s nobody that can beat her. When she has the ball, if they don’t have the ball, that is
her superpower – combining making layups to knowing who she’s on the floor with, betting on herself.

“Any offense has a pecking order as to who you want to go to. Who’s the first, second, third option? She’s got to look around. If she feels like she’s the best option on the floor, then let that be your read-back.

“She’s been great to go through this journey with because she’s such a great player. You want to see her complete her journey in a way that makes her a better pro, makes her more predictable, makes her more reliable – so, all of those things, and still be who she is. We don’t want to strip her away from feeling the game, being out there, taking chances sometimes because, within those chances, there’s some greatness that’s taking place.”

On what Staley took away from Saturday’s game

“We got off to a big lead, saw our lead cut in half. You got to play. You got to be able to weather people’s storms – they’re coming. There’s not going to be, from minute one to minute 40, a straight trajectory of you playing extremely well basketball without having any resistance. You got to embrace the resistance and try to get your habits out there on the floor better than their habits out there on the floor.

“It’s a hard league to play in. So, every win is one that you enjoy for a short period of time. Then, you got to prep for the next one.”

On how confident Staley is in South Carolina right now

“I think we’re playing our best basketball, just individually and collectively – you’re seeing it. You’re seeing top performances from Chloe (Kitts); you’re seeing MiLaysia (Fulwiley) play consistently on both sides of the basketball. You see Feagin come out and a have double-digit game. Joyce (Edwards) is playing her best basketball at this time. We’re doing it together.

“Chloe, we threw the ball down there, she made plays. But it was a collection. People dumped it off to Chloe yesterday. Joyce, (it’s the) same thing today where she made plays. People made her life a little easier at times by getting her involved. It’s more of us individually and collectively playing our best basketball.”

On how playing a tough non-conference schedule has prepared South Carolina for March

“I’ve always said that playing in this league, playing in the SEC, prepares you to win
national championships. We don’t win our three national championships without playing in this league – and only this league.

“I think you sharpen your skill set as a team. Individually, players sharpen their skill set. I think coaches sharpen their skill set. It is the very thing, when I decided to leave Temple to come to South Carolina, to be challenged every day. In the beginning, I thought it was professional suicide. But then, you get used to it. You get used to being in this grind. You’re either going to sink or swim.

“We’ve had players that put us in this position. It’s super great. You got to stay up with the talent because the talent is long and wide in this league, and you need it in order for you to compete at a high level.”

On the growth of the South Carolina women’s basketball program during her head coaching tenure

“I would say those earlier years are what keeps us motivated to continue to win because we lost a whole lot in those first three or four years. (We) lost a lot.

“I do believe you gain by losing sometimes. It helps you sharpen your skills and sharpen who you want to be in this league. I’m just proud that I got a chance to coach some really talented individuals and some great human beings. It doesn’t always end in you winning and being successful. For us, we got the best of both worlds. (I’m) so honored to represent this conference.”

On how it feels to coach a South Carolina team playing well against the country’s best programs

“This league is for the ultimate competitors. Our game, women’s basketball, is for the
ultimate competitors. If you’re not a competitor, you’re probably not going to have a job very long. Your players are going to be super unhappy.

“I think, if you’re in this game, you got to compete at the highest level. You got to bring stuff out of players that they don’t see in themselves at times. Then, once they get
there, you have to continue to sharpen their thirst to be great.

“I think it’s cool. It’s the most attractive thing about being in our sport – the competitiveness.”

On Staley’s preference for a SEC Tournament championship game opponent

“The winner of a six-overtime game starting in a few minutes.”

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