Dawn Staley made history on Sunday as the first Black coach to win numerous national championships. She led the South Carolina Gamecocks to the Women’s Final Four NCAA tournament against UConn and cinched the championship in a 64-49 win, according to the HuffPost.
In 2008, when South Carolina’s women’s basketball team promoted Staley as a coach, she was laser-focused on achieving one goal, saying “I [want] to win the national championship.”
The women’s basketball coach turned her dream into a reality on Sunday night, The New York Times reports.
Staley’s team built an air-tight defense that ended the Huskies’ undefeated streak in title games. Key players Destanni Henderson scored 26 points and Aliyah Boston put up 11 points and 16 rebounds which helped the Gamecocks deliver the 11-time champion Connecticut Huskies their first loss in 12 NCAA title games, according to Yahoo.
“We played every possession like it was our last possession,” Staley said, the HuffPost reports. “They were determined to be champions today.”
