SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Dawn Staley doesn't see South Carolina's rematch against Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 as a chance to avenge the Gamecocks' lone regular-season Southeastern Conference loss this season.
To Staley, it's just a chance for the top-seeded team in Sacramento Region 4 to get back to the Elite Eight. The teams will play Saturday before third-seeded TCU faces No. 10 seed Virginia in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“We’re not motivated by we’re avenging a loss. We’re motivated by advancing,” Staley said. “It’s not like, oh, they beat us last time, let us do this or that. It’s survive and advance. It is to have more points than they do at the end of the 40 minutes or however long it takes.”
South Carolina lost 94-82 in overtime at Oklahoma on Jan. 22. Sooners freshman Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points in the extra period.
“I don’t think we tweak from what we didn’t do last time,” Staley said. “I think we tweak from where we want to play in a tournament and the things that we need to do to stay organized.”
The Gamecocks have been a mainstay in the Sweet 16, advancing to six of the past eight Final Fours and winning three national championships during that stretch. The Sooners are trying to advance to a regional final for the first time since the 2009-10 season. That was Oklahoma's last trip to the Final Four.
“What I think about South Carolina is that you don’t get just this year’s team. You get the history of South Carolina. You get their experience that’s unmatched,” Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “You get a Raven Johnson that has had any and every kind of experience in that leadership. You get a Tessa Johnson who has done nothing but hit huge shots over and over and over again. And then you add a Ta’Niya Latson into that mix, that’s a different guard, that’s a playmaking guard.”
Virginia is the newcomer to this round; the Cavaliers reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. The Cavaliers, who are the first double-digit seed to reach the regional semifinals since 2022, pulled off the upset of the tournament, knocking off No. 2 seed Iowa on the road in double overtime in the second round. They became the first First Four team to advance this far.
Virginia will face a TCU team that is trying to advance to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. The Horned Frogs rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Washington in overtime in the second round. TCU is led by Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez.
“They are just old veterans who have been in so many big-time battles,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “That's their asset going into this game. They don't want their journey to end.”
Staley is a proud Wahoo
Staley — who led Virginia to three straight Final Fours as a player during the program's heyday — was proud to see the Cavaliers in the regional.
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“I’ve spoken to Coach (Amaka Agugua-Hamilton) a few times. I always send her a text to congratulate her. I think I went to U-Va. over the Christmas break and got a chance to sit and chat with her, and just letting her know she’s done a great job,” Staley said. “We’re back to our glory days at U-Va.”
Agugua-Hamilton was one of the Black coaches to whom Staley sent a piece of South Carolina's championship net from the 2017 title. Agugua-Hamilton was at Missouri State at the time and still keeps the net on her desk.
“I have tremendous respect for her and everything she’s done, in her career and just done for the game and elevated our game, and brought more notoriety to it," Agugua-Hamilton said. "But yeah, I mean, I knew her before I got to U-Va., but I would say we became friends once I got here.”
Oklahoma and TCU have familiarity with Sacramento
Oklahoma played an early-season game at Golden 1 Center against UCLA, which is the No. 1 seed in Sacramento Region 2. The Sooners lost, but gained some familiarity with the area.
“Do I think it helped us playing a UCLA in November here? Absolutely,” Baranczyk said. “I don’t think that can hurt you. I think when you’re playing against great teams, it exposes you early and you have to learn and you fall down.”
Baranczyk said her daughter Jordi, who was celebrating her 12th birthday, traveled with the team in November and was excited to be back in the area.
TCU's Campbell, meanwhile, got his first head coaching chance at Sacramento State. He coached there for two seasons, guiding the team to a program-record 25 wins and its first NCAA appearance in 2022-23.
“This week is so special because of our time at Sac State,” Campbell said.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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