For about the past two decades, the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team has been one of the most dominant programs across all sports, making 14 straight Final Fours. And even though that streak came to an end this week with a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley doesn’t think this marks UConn’s downfall.
Dawn Staley, who is trying to lead her undefeated Gamecocks to a second-straight national title, thinks that UConn is going to be just fine after an uncharacteristic down season.
“UConn is going to continue to be UConn,” Staley said according to ESPN. “They’re going to reload. If you see their roster that’s coming in and who they’re bringing back next year, they’ll reload. They’ll start a new streak.
“I don’t think any of us that’s outside of UConn, we’re not panicking. They’re going to be who they are. They’re going to always — you get a chance to beat UConn, it’s always going to be a big win for you and your program.”
Even though this was the earlier UConn had been eliminated from the NCAA tournament since 2005, Staley still sees UConn as the dominant dynasty they’ve been for the past two decades. And she thinks they’ll be right back at the top next year.
“It’s not over,” Staley said. “It’s a scary thing because they lost a lot more games than they normally lose. But they were hampered by injuries, and once they get healthy, once they get Paige back, once this year’s recruiting class is able to play and who they’ll bring in, it’s back to the drawing board.”
[ESPN]
