Dawn Staley had powerful message after South Carolina’s loss to UConn

Dawn Staley made sure to shine the spotlight on some unsung heroes after South Carolina’s season ended Sunday with a loss to UConn.

Staley’s Gamecocks were outclassed by the Huskies 82-59 in the NCAA National Championship Game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Top-seeded South Carolina was held to just 34.4 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from the three-point line in the title game

Staley fulfilled her obligations by answering questions at her team’s official press conference. But afterward, Staley had one final scrum with the local reporters who have covered the team all season long.

Staley made sure to thank each and every one of them, while also wishing other women’s basketball programs had the same level of local coverage as South Carolina.

“I’ll leave on this note,” said Staley. “This is our local media. You all have followed us across the season. A lot of times, people ask me to do things on a national scale, and I say no a lot. Because they don’t really know our team. You guys know our team … You’re pretty fair with how you assess our basketball team. … If every program had this, I think we could push women’s basketball forward, on a local level, across the country.”