Dawn Staley: Why South Carolina-UConn women's basketball rivalry game came at right time

HARTFORD, Conn. — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is tired of hearing that no one watches women's basketball.

An arena filled to capacity with 16,000 fans for the No. 1 Gamecocks' (23-0) rivalry showdown at No. 5 UConn (21-3) proved to Staley that plenty of people are watching. It was the first sold-out crowd at the Huskies' home-away-from-home in six years.

The two teams also met twice during the 2021-22 season, once in the regular season and once in the NCAA Championship, and both games were also sellouts.

"I saw Stubhub had $700 for this ticket to get in this game," Staley said. "We are marketable. We are. We are a value sport. Once people start treating us like that, you're going to see us be a multi-100 million dollar sport. We've got the product, we've got the coaches, we've got the players, we've got the fans. We have we have it all, so let us loose."

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South Carolina beat UConn 81-77 on Sunday in its first ranked matchup since beating UCLA in December. The Gamecocks are entering the home stretch of their SEC schedule and have another ranked opponent, No. 3 LSU, coming up next Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN), but Staley said she has no qualms about scheduling the Huskies late in the season.

"A lot of people say, 'Why do you play this game?' You're right in the middle of your conference schedule, and we've got a tough league that we play in," Staley said. "I play it because I want our players to play on the biggest stage always: win, lose or draw. We have to participate in these experiences to measure ourselves to be great."

Staley compared the atmosphere in Hartford to that of a national championship game and said it was a valuable experience, especially for the team's newer players to understand what it takes to compete in a high-intensity environment.

"I want us to feel what it takes in order for us to do this," Staley said. "To deal with the first round, the second round, Sweet 16, Elite 8, it's going to take this kind of effort and attention to detail. The crowd may not be in our favor, but we have to lock in ... I hope our younger players really take in being in this environment. They may not play, but you've got to feel it and you've got to go through it, and then it possibly can help you practice a little bit better."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina-UConn sellout proves women's basketball can be big draw