Dawn Staley has had her fair share of heartbreaks during her tenure as coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. One of those moments occurred in their 2023 Final Four loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. In an interview on The Pivot Podcast, which premiered on May 3, 2023, Staley recalled her frustrations with the officiating in that NCAA Tournament semifinal.

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley and forward Aliyah Boston (#4) pose with the 2023 SEC Regular Season Championship trophy following their win over the Georgia Lady Bulldogs at Colonial Life Arena. Photo: Imagn

The Gamecocks entered that showdown as the favorites, having won their previous 36 games to start the 2022-23 season. However, South Carolina’s title bid ended in Dallas, as they lost 77-73 to Iowa. They had no answer for Clark, who recorded 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the contest.

Staley’s wounds were still fresh when she spoke to former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor about the game. She opened up about the challenges the Gamecocks faced in their clash with Iowa, particularly the officiating on Aliyah Boston.

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“We have to defend the way we defend because we never know when our offense is not going to show up,” Staley said (Timestamp 33:12). “Yes, we’re tough defenders. We’re physical. We can take it as well but we can’t take it if we had to succumb to things that we can’t dish out.”

“Aliyah Boston got beat down. Like beat down. She wasn’t able to move like she normally moves. She’s getting hit and she can take that too but when you called two fouls on her, our defense takes a hit big time. This is National Defensive Player of the Year.”

Dawn Staley, whose net worth is $12 million according to Forbes, revealed that South Carolina’s strategy was to limit Monika Czinano’s scoring inside the paint, knowing Clark was going to get her points no matter what. The Gamecocks weren’t able to execute that plan properly due to Boston’s foul trouble.

“Do I think Aliyah is a better defender when she’s in that situation than what we had? Yes, I do because she’s smarter,” Staley said. “She’s been in that situation. She knew exactly how we wanted to play but she wasn’t on the floor to stop that so it’s our loss.”

Dawn Staley gains revenge on Iowa in 2024 NCAA title game

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks got their revenge on the Iowa Hawkeyes the following year, beating them 87-75 in the national championship game. Four players scored in double figures for the Gamecocks, who finished the 2023-24 NCAA season with a perfect 38-0 record.

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley cuts the net after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 national championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Photo: Imagn

Tessa Johnson led South Carolina in scoring with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Kamilla Cardoso dominated inside, scoring 15 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao and Chloe Kitts also contributed, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.