How Dawn Staley's vow after huge loss to Pat Summitt changed her basketball career

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley has plenty of memories of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, though not all of them are fond. In fact, Staley credits a loss to Summitt's Lady Vols in her freshman year at Virginia with altering the path of her basketball career.

"We lost to them by 33 points, and it's etched in my memory. From that loss is when I just vowed to myself and our team that that would never happen again," Staley said. "And we may have lost to them (again), but it wasn't by 33 points. That's the kind of impact and impression, good or bad, that Coach Summitt had on people."

The SEC dedicates a week to the We Back Pat campaign every year in honor of Summitt's life and legacy. Every team hosts a game supporting the Pat Summitt Foundation to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and funds for research. Summitt was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in 2011 and died in 2016 at age 63.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE:Why South Carolina women's basketball defensive versatility is most important weapon

GAMECOCKS ROUT VANDY:South Carolina women's basketball routs Vanderbilt 96-48, extends win streak to 25 games

GENERATIONAL TALENT:For 5-foot-7 South Carolina women's basketball signee Milaysia Fulwiley dunk is just part of her game

The Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC) will play their We Back Pat game against Arkansas (17-4, 4-2) at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN2).

Staley crossed paths with Summitt regularly, both as a player and a coach. At Virginia, she faced Summitt's Tennessee teams three consecutive years in the NCAA Tournament from 1989-91. The Lady Vols beat Staley's Cavaliers in 1989 — by 33 points — and in 1991, going on to win the national championship both years. Virginia pulled out a four-point overtime win in 1990.

After taking over as South Carolina's coach in 2008, Staley faced Summitt eight times before the Lady Vols coach retired after the 2011-12 season. The Gamecocks won just one of those meetings 64-60 in Summitt's final season.

"If you've been in the game long enough, she's impacted you, whether that's losing to them or her just being around on the recruiting trail and imparting knowledge and information to grow the game," Staley said. "We must continue to pay homage to the disease that took her life, and also just her legacy because she's meant so much to our game. There won't be another Pat Summitt, ever."

A decade after her retirement, Summitt remains one of the most successful coaches in the history of college women's basketball. In 38 years at Tennessee, she led the Lady Vols to eight national championships and is one of just three coaches to win back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. She is the second-winningest coach of all time, concluding her career in 2012 with a 1,098-208 record.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley: Pat Summitt loss changed South Carolina coach's career