The South Carolina Gamecocks are on the hunt this season.
After their disappointing 82-59 loss to UConn this April, the Gamecocks left Tampa, Florida, knowing something had to give. As it happened, a few things did: MiLaysia Fulwiley departed the team for LSU, and the Gamecocks gained Ta'Niya Latson, Ayla McDowell, and Agot Meeker.
The team has also gained a new mentality, Gamecocks reporter Chris Wellbaum wrote Thursday, September 25. Though full media access has not yet begun, Wellbaum noted that the players and the staff seem lighter and happier this season — but they're absolutely on a mission to win.
It's well known that Coach Dawn Staley likes to come up with a theme or kind of mission for each season. As Wellbaum recalled, two years ago it was Dawn's Daycare, a concept that was celebrated across the board. The 2023-24 team was literally unstoppable, and ended the season with an undefeated record, including the NCAA Championship.
The theme, which at that point had taken on a life of its own and was fully embraced by basketball reporters, fans, and nearly everyone who knew who Dawn Staley was on social media, rolled over to last year, but it's fair to say it never quite fit the way it did the first time around. There are strong indications Staley and her team will approach this season in a new way: and, for the first time in a long time, it sounds like everyone is having a lot of fun.
The 2025 NCAA Championship was a tough loss for the Gamecocks
To say last season's NCAA Championship was hard for the Gamecocks is an understatement; it was clear during the game and directly afterward that everyone, including Staley, was taking the loss extremely hard. Though South Carolina fought hard, their efforts were nothing compared to those of UConn's Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong.
To a degree, the UConn win was almost inevitable. The Huskies unlocked something powerful toward the end of last year's season, and won their final 16 games to finish with a 37-3 record. They barreled through teams on their way to the Championship Game, besting their opponents by at least 14 points each match. Bueckers got to end her collegiate career on a cinematic high that couldn't have been scripted better, and in plenty of ways, the tournament's end was what it should have been.
That is, unless you're from South Carolina.