Dawn Staley Previews Massive Showdown Vs. No. 11 UConn Huskies

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley speaks on upcoming matchup against the UConn Huskies.

This weekend is business as usual for Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks as they head into their matchup against the 11th-ranked UConn Huskies. The team's coming in with a great mindset with their preparation for the game, which coach Staley said is always encouraging.

Dawn stated that UConn is the best program of this century, so even though they've suffered several injuries, they won't likely talk about them because they still have a team full of All-Americans. When Coach Staley was asked about what the challenge is of stopping someone like Paige Bueckers, she didn't mince any words.

"She's good... Everything that she does has a purpose; there's no wasted movements out there on the floor," Dawn explained. "So, if you have some slippage defensively, she's going to make you pay. She's super well put together, and she's put the work in to have those types of performances, to have a guard shoot 50% from three and 52-54% from the floor, very, very dangerous."

Paige Bueckers looks for an opening against the Seton Hall Pirates (7th Feb., 2024) / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

When asked about the impact of the scheduling of this game in the middle of conference play rather than at the beginning of the year, the Gamecocks leader explained that the game is meant to help the team in the long run when it's time to play their best basketball.

"For UConn, it helps for the NET [rankings] and another quality win or game on the road... For us, it's getting ready for the NCAA tournament. Because it's still UConn," Staley said. "To play them once, I think, is advantageous to them, to play them this time of the season and then have to play them in the tournament... You're more familiar with how they play."

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