Judy: Finally tonight, south
Carolina emerges as a powerhouse
in women's college basketball.
The Gamecocks defeated the
university of Connecticut last
night, largely controlling the
game from beginning to end.
Our correspondent looks at the
champions, their coach, and the
state of the women's game.
Reporter: UConn huskies had won
11 NCAA titles, and they had
never lost a championship game
once they made it to the final
round.
Last night, the coach and the
South Carolina Gamecocks were
the ones who came out on top.
Staley is the first black coach,
male or female, to win multiple
division I national basketball
championships.
She won the first title with
South Carolina in 2017.
Rachel Bachmann is a senior
sports reporter for the wall
Street journal.
She joints we form Minneapolis.
You were there last night.
You watched all of this unfold.
Winning a title for any team at
any time is a big deal.
For this particular team, why
was this such a big moment?
Rachel: This really was more
than a year in the making.
Last year, the South Carolina
Gamecocks lost in heartbreaking
fashion to Stanford, the
eventual champion, on a last
second shot that fell out by
their star, aliyah Boston, who
was back this year and really
was laser focused on getting
back where she did last night.
This time, they finished the
job.
>> They dominated the entire
game, I think it is fair to say?
They dominated much of the
season, they came in 35-2,
ranked number one.
Why are they so good?
Rachel: They really have an
unstoppable combination of
Boston down low, she is 6'5",
incredibly skilled, national
player of the year, and they
have fantastic outside shooters.
Including destanni Henderson who
had a career-high high of 26
points last night.
This combination is difficult to
defend.
They have a great defense.
They really can beat you almost
anyway, and that is exactly what
they did to UConn.
They shut them down in every
facet of the game.
>> What about their coach?
Talk to me about dawn Staley she
is a trail blazer in so many
ways.
She was an all-star in the wnba.
Two-time national championship
winning coach.
Is this a dynasty she is
building?
Rachel: It is funny, last night,
she was hesitant to call it that
because there are teams like
UConn that have 11 titles.
But I think she is definitely
building one.
Two titles in five seasons,
minus the covid here.
-- Year.
They were number one the entire
year the season.
I think with Boston coming back,
as she is next year, and the
incredible recruiting she has
done and will continue to do,
dawn Staley, I don't see any
reason why they would not
continue this winning stretch.
>> Coach Staley has talked about
the pressure she feels as a
black coach, saying going into
these high-profile games, she
feels that.
She knows if you don't win, you
close doors for other people
coming behind you.
Performing as she has, two
national titles, what is the
impact of someone like dawn
Staley on the game?
Rachel: The incredible thing
about her is she shoulders that
responsibility.
She embraces it.
She reaches out to other black
coaches.
The last time she won the title,
she shared pieces of the net
with other black women who
coached basketball.
She is planning to do something
similar with black male coaches,
with the net she cut down last
night.
She really doesn't shoulder that
responsibility.
It is a lot of pressure, but she
embraces it.
She really is a path breaker.
>> At the same time, she is
among the higher paid coaches
when it comes to women's college
basketball.
It does not even compare to what
the men get paid.
She has noted this before.
She said, in the men's game,
even if you are unproven, you
come in making what I am making
now and it is ridiculous.
How are we doing on closing the
pay disparity gap, in the
investment gap that we know
exists between the men's game
and women's game?
Rachel: This is where it is
important to point out that the
women's game is nowhere.
The men's championships started
in 1939.
The women's started in 1982.
The women still have a lot of
catching up to do.
That being said, there could not
be more investment.
This is what the coaches are
saying, administrators are
saying.
One of the reasons why coach
Staley insisted on the highest
salary she does, nearly $3
million a year, as she wanted to
set a marker for other coaches
so they could say hey, if I am
close to achieving that, I
should get close to her pay as
well.
This is important in the women's
game.
And coaches have grown up taking
what they could get.
There are more coaches now who
are not satisfied with just
accepting that.
>> Coach dawn Staley will be one
to watch for years to come, and
those South Carolina Gamecocks.
Congratulations to them.
That is Rachel Bachmann joining
us tonight.
Thank you so much.