HERSTORY 💫 Dawn Staley 🏀

There’s no better time then now to celebrate #CoachDawnStaley!
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the NCAA’s all-time steals leader, Dawn Staley was an undersized sparkplug that led the University of Virginia to three consecutive Final Fours. She was a two-time National Player of the Year and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1991 NCAA Final Four. Staley was one of the early pioneers in the mid-90s revolution of professional basketball for women, first playing in the ABL for the Richmond Rage and later in the WNBA for the Sting and Comets. Her first Olympics came in 1996, and she was honored by her countrymen in 2004 by carrying the flag into the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony. Staley was a five-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time Kodak All-America.

Catapulting South Carolina into the national spotlight, Dawn Staley has made the Gamecocks a mainstay in the battle for SEC and national championships. Under her leadership, the Gamecocks have reached many firsts – National Championships, NCAA Final Fours, No. 1 rankings, SEC regular-season and tournament titles, SEC Players of the Year, National Players of the Year, WNBA No. 1 Draft pick and No. 1 recruiting classes – to name the most notable.
In Staley’s 14 seasons at the helm of the Gamecocks, highlights include:
* Two National Championships (2017, 2022)
* Four NCAA Final Fours in the last seven tournaments (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022)
* Ranking in the AP Top 25 every week since Dec. 10, 2012, including 114 weeks in the top five
* 44 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, including two final No. 1 rankings (2019-20, 2021-22)
* 11 25-win seasons, including five 30-win campaigns led by a school-record 35 victories in 2021-22
* Six SEC regular-season championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022)
* Six SEC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021)
* Three top-two recruiting classes (#1 in 2021, #1 in 2019, #2in 2014)
* Eight NCAA Attendance titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

For Coach Staley’s full bio and career stats read more at: https://gamecocksonline.com/sports/wbball/roster/coach/dawn-staley/

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