South Carolina Tops N.C.A.A. Women’s Tournament Field

“We’ve been called so many things, and I’m sick of it,” Staley said, adding: “We don’t denounce anybody’s play. They are always uplifting the game of women’s basketball, and when we were getting our heads beat in by UConn for all those years, I said nothing.”

As South Carolina trounced UConn in the title game last season, 64-49, it appeared to be an clear changing of the guard. South Carolina seemed headed toward becoming college basketball’s next dynasty, and its performance so far this season has made that idea a reality.

“I don’t think winning two national championships or going to the Final Four back to back is considered a dynasty back in my age,” Staley said after last year’s title win. (South Carolina also won the title in the 2016-17 season.) “But Aliyah and social media, yeah, they think they doing something good.”

Staley added: “Look at the tradition of UConn and what they were able to do. They’re the standard. If it takes winning 11 national championships to be a dynasty, I’m probably going to fall short of that because I’m not going to be in the game long enough for us to win 11.”

The teams with the best chances of crashing South Carolina’s dynasty party include the mainstays in Stanford and UConn, but also other teams with dynamic stars, like No. 2 seed Iowa and Virginia Tech.

UConn comes into the tournament having won seven of its last eight games, including a comfortable win in the Big East Conference tournament final over Villanova. But its play has fluctuated this season as it has dealt with several injuries. The issues began before the season with Paige Bueckers, the team’s best player, tearing her a knee ligament in an August pickup game that sidelined her for the season. Ice Brady, a promising freshman, dislocated the patella in her right knee, in a practice before the season, which sidelined her the entire year.

The injuries continued. On Jan. 7, UConn had to postpone a game against DePaul because it had only six active players. Also, Auriemma missed four games this year with an illness.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/sports/ncaabasketball/womens-ncaa-tournament-selection.html