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South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On her decision to address the crowd after the game
“After such a tough season, the results part of it, the one thing we could count on were the people that came out to support us. I wanted to thank them and to have them help me thank our seniors for what they’ve given to this program. It’s been tough with how it’s played out, with the injuries. I wanted our seniors to go out knowing that people appreciate their contribution to the program. I thought it was right to thank the fans that came and supported us each game.”

On how the team progressed over the course of the season
“We progressed in a lot of tangible areas. Our players always try. We just need more experience to really play at this level. The players really have to play harder when they are out-talented sometimes. They fought a lot, and they got better. We were in some basketball games, and we were out of some basketball games. They’ve gained some valuable experience for next year. Some of them won’t have to play a major role like they played this year, and they’ll have better contributions to our team. We’vs got a point guard coming in, and some players that are comfortable making some plays.”

Looking ahead to next year…
“We’re going to be a better basketball team. It’s not hard to be better than where we were this year, so I think we’ll be a lot better than we were this year. The name of the game is players, and we need to get players in here that can play at the highest level.”

On being frustrated toward the end of the game
“I don’t take losing very well. I’m never going to do that. We want them to play better, make better decisions. We want the seniors to go out the right way, and it’s frustrating that we couldn’t do that today. I was depressed that we couldn’t get some more wins this season for everybody’s sake. I’m encouraged going into the [SEC] Tournament. We’re the way underdogs, but I think we can surprise a team or two. “

On preparing for the SEC Tournament
“It looks like we’re going to be playing Mississippi State. I thought we played a good 30 minutes up at Mississippi State, before things fell apart. We need to consider that they don’t play well away from home, and all of those factors. We have to tweak our offense a little bit. We may put in a couple quick hitters so we can get some better looks at the basket.”

Freshman Guard Lakeisha Sutton
On why it was so tough in second half to make shots
“I honestly don’t know. We used different offenses to try to get different looks. Our shots weren’t falling tonight.”

On the emotion with the three seniors honored before the game
“The three seniors are the epitome of dedication and determination, and the element of drive. We try to follow them. It was emotional because we didn’t have [two of] them [on the court].”