South Carolina's Dawn Staley suggests ESPN's framing of her comments on Paige Bueckers was misleading: 'Lies'

The 2 preeminent coaches successful women's assemblage hoops volition conscionable successful Sunday's NCAA Division I women's hoops nationalist title game.

Geno Auriemma has coached UConn to 11 nationalist titles, portion South Carolina caput manager Dawn Staley has led the Gamecocks to 3 championships – including the 2024 title. UConn and South Carolina volition conflict for the 2025 title successful Tampa, Florida, aboriginal Sunday.

Staley is 1 of assemblage basketball's high-profile figures, and she has often shared her thoughts connected immoderate contented the athletics whitethorn beryllium contending with astatine a fixed moment. Amid the Gamecocks' pursuit of back-to-back nationalist titles, Staley spoke retired connected the narratives surrounding UConn prima Paige Bueckers arsenic it relates to the model of women's assemblage basketball.

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Head manager Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Texas Longhorns crippled astatine the NCAA semifinal crippled astatine Amalie Arena connected April 4, 2025, successful Tampa, Florida. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Staley pointed retired the narratives surrounding erstwhile Iowa Hawkeyes prima Caitlin Clark erstwhile she spoke astir the conversations presently being thrown astir astir Bueckers.

Clark's idiosyncratic accomplishments during her emergence to stardom implicit the past mates of years dominated media coverage. Clark was largely, and successful immoderate instances solely, credited with women's basketball's steep emergence successful popularity.

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When speaking astir Bueckers and the pursuit of her archetypal vocation championship, Staley suggested determination was a inclination "to hide the communicative astir what (South Carolina players) person been capable to do, going for their 3rd (national championship) successful 4 years."

Head manager Dawn Staley of the Gamecocks gestures during the Georgia Lady Bulldogs crippled astatine Colonial Life Arena connected Feb. 18, 2024, successful Columbia, South Carolina. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

"Sometimes we make these narratives astir large players – Caitlin was 1 of them; Paige is 1 of them close present – and we thin to hide the communicative astir what our kids person been capable to do, going for their 3rd successful 4 years," Staley said during a property league connected Saturday. 

"There’s a sentimental communicative astir Paige. A large freakin’ player. Anybody would commencement their franchise with Paige due to the fact that of her businesslike mode of playing, due to the fact that she’s a winner, due to the fact that she cerebrally conscionable knows the game, conscionable has an aura astir her. And she’ll beryllium the fig 1 prime successful the WNBA draft. And she’ll beryllium an Olympian. She’ll beryllium each those things. But erstwhile you enactment a communicative retired there, everybody sees that, and it puts america astatine a disadvantage, whether you privation to judge truthful oregon not. Officials spot it. It’s each implicit TikTok. It’s each implicit ‘SportsCenter.’ It’s each implicit each of that."

"And she’s a large subordinate but conscionable due to the fact that you’re a large subordinate doesn’t mean you request to triumph the nationalist title to legitimize it. Paige is legit. She was legit from the infinitesimal she stepped connected this signifier oregon anterior to, successful Minnesota. Her vocation is legendary. She volition permission a bequest astatine UConn whether she wins 1 oregon not."

Staley past pointed to South Carolina's acquisition during past year's tally to the nationalist title.

"I conscionable privation to enactment it retired there. I can’t not code it due to the fact that it’s happening. It happened to america past year. Everything was astir Caitlin Clark and her bequest and her quality to triumph a nationalist championship. Yet we were coming into this happening undefeated, doing thing that’s unprecedented astatine the time, due to the fact that it’s hard. It’s hard. We find ourselves backmost present successful a akin situation."

UConn defender Paige Bueckers passes the shot during the Sweet 16 crippled against Oklahoma, Saturday, March 29, 2025, successful Spokane, Washington. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Staley past expressed her hopes for a much balanced approach.

"I privation the sentiments to beryllium astir our players and what our players person been capable to bash – equally, due to the fact that there's country to bash both," she said. "We tin rise Paige up due to the fact that she deserves that and rise our players up due to the fact that they merit that. And that’s not talked astir enough. There’s country for it successful our game. Room for Jose. Room for our game, for each of america to beryllium covered. Let’s not take a history, one’s past implicit different program’s history. Let’s not take 1 subordinate implicit different player’s past due to the fact that we’re each creating past for our game."

On Saturday, ESPN included quotes from Staley's media league successful an nonfiction covering the Bueckers narrative. The network's women's hoops X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, account, besides shared a station with a nexus to the story.

"Dawn Staley says communicative astir Paige Bueckers and her quest to triumph a rubric has overshadowed South Carolina’s feats," the station connected X read. Staley took contented with however her comments were being presented and responded to the post. "LIES! Fix your headline, please!" the South Carolina wrote connected X.

 South Carolina went undefeated past play and defeated Clark and the Hawkeyes successful the title game. Iowa besides came up abbreviated successful the 2023 nationalist rubric game, arsenic LSU dominated the Hawkeyes successful that year's rubric game. 

Iowa's Caitlin Clark during the LSU crippled astatine American Airlines Arena Dallas. (Greg Nelson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Clark ne'er won a title during her assemblage career. Nevertheless, she is wide viewed arsenic 1 of women's assemblage basketball's top players – which seems to talk to Staley's constituent astir Bueckers not needing to "win the nationalist title to legitimize" a player's greatness.

South Carolina and UConn extremity disconnected astatine 3 p.m. ET astatine Amalie Arena.

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