MINNEAPOLIS — Dawn Staley spoke directly into the camera, confetti on the ground, her Louis Vuitton letterman jacket long ditched for better gear and a crowd growing around her.
“Let ’em know who the champs are,” Staley half-yelled, fans in the stands still hanging on her every word in the background. She adjusted her brand-new gray hat. “The Gamecocks.”
South Carolina slayed UConn, 64-49, to win its second women's basketball national championship in program history at Target Center on Sunday night. A rocking Gamecock-heavy crowd erupted in the final 30 seconds as she keeled over in the green letterman jacket, the “net worth” goal achieved.