Staley Named Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist
COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the eighth time in her career, South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley is one of four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Staley is the only four-time winner in the award’s history for men’s or women’s basketball, including winning it the last three seasons.
Staley led the Gamecocks to the SEC Regular-Season and Tournament titles, sweeping the two for the third-straight season and the seventh time in the last 11 seasons. After putting together the toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NET rankings, she led South Carolina to its fourth-straight 30-win season and the eighth 30-win campaign in her 17 seasons in Columbia. The Gamecocks’ 19 Quad 1 games are the most in the country and include six non-conference regular-season outings. Their 16 Quad 1 wins are also the most in the nation.
South Carolina has 12 wins over ranked opponents, including an NCAA-best seven against top-10 opponents, and has won those games by an average of 20.0 points with only one decided by single digits. The Gamecocks’ success has been built on a team concept that has them ranked 11th in the nation in points per game and their top scorer averaging just 13.2 points per game. Seven Gamecocks average at least 7.0 points per game, and the South Carolina bench leads the nation in scoring at 41.5 points per game.
No. 2/2 South Carolina earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Birmingham 2 Regional and advanced to its 11th-straight NCAA Sweet 16 with a pair of wins last weekend at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks are back in action on Fri., Mar. 28, against the winner of tonight’s game between No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 5 seed Alabama.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.
Naismith Coach of the Year Finalists
Mark Campbell, TCU
Cori Close, UCLA
Lindsay Gottlieb, Southern Cal
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
