South Carolina coach Dawn Staley handled her team’s emotional SEC championship win over LSU with the utmost grace and class.
On Sunday, the Gamecocks prevailed over the Tigers in a 79—72 thriller that featured a late bench-clearing dustup causing at least 10 players to get ejected.
After the final buzzer, Staley, who had just clinched her eighth SEC tournament title in 10 years, apologized to those who witnessed the heated skirmish between South Carolina and LSU players.
“I just want to apologize to the basketball community,” Staley said in a postgame interview. “When you’re playing in championship games like this, in our league, things get heated. No bad intentions. Their emotions got so far ahead of them that sometimes these things happen. I want to apologize for us playing a part in that because that’s not who we are and that’s not what we’re about. I’m happy for the players that were able to finish the game and get us another championship.”
Dawn Staley spoke about the scuffle between LSU and South Carolina following the Gamecocks' SEC championship win. pic.twitter.com/vnF8WD3boW
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With just over two minutes left in the game, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson was called for a cynical foul on South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley. As Johnson was walking to the bench, she bumped into an opposing player, prompting South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso to run over and shove Johnson to the ground.
The game was delayed for at least 15 minutes as the officials reviewed the incident. Cardoso was ejected and will be suspended for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“I mean we’re going to talk about it,” Staley said of the fourth-quarter scuffle. “We’ve always talked about it—never leave the bench, never get too high with the highs or low with the lows. It’s hard when you’re playing. I’ve played this game a long time. I can’t tell you I was a saint at all times. Your emotions get the best of you. It’s unfortunate that the players that got ejected can’t be a part of the celebration.”
The Gamecocks did enough to secure a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA tournament and will find out their place in the bracket on March 17.
