Let it Reign!

Dawn Staley’s remarkable women’s basketball team brought home the third national championship in program history.

Posted on: May 14, 2024; Updated on: May 14, 2024
By Thom Harman, tharman0@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-7705

After a tough loss to Iowa in the 2023 Final Four, Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks lost seven seniors — five to the WNBA. Thanks to a stellar recruiting class and some key transfers, though, they reloaded and set out for revenge. The efforts earned multiple coach of the year honors for Staley, rings and pieces of net for her players and staff, and a third championship for Gamecock Nation.

Photo of Ashlyn Watkins by Jeff Blake; photos of Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin by Kim Truett; all other photos courtesy of South Carolina Athletics.

Staley’s crew opened the season by beating Notre Dame 100-71 in the first NCAA regular season basketball game ever in France and introducing the world to freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley, who scored 17 points and made a jaw-dropping drive to the basket that quickly went viral. “I just saw the best move in all of basketball,” NBA legend Magic Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
After a slow start against UNC, the Gamecocks came back to win 65-58. Bree Hall had 15 points, including three crucial three-pointers, and she continued to grow as the season progressed. “I’m super proud of Breezy,” Staley told reporters after another 15-point performance by Hall, against Mississippi State. “She’s comfortable on both sides of the basketball. She’s a very disciplined player.”
Last year, Ashlyn Watkins became the ninth female player ever to dunk in a Division I game. This year, against Kentucky, the sophomore Columbia native did it again. But Watkins brings more than offensive flash. In her first career start, versus Auburn, she tallied 14 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Her uncanny ability to block shots even earned her a nickname: “Swatkins.”
Te-Hina Paopao transferred to USC during the offseason, bringing with her some much-needed maturity and a knack for sinking threes. Versus UConn, she scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and she led the nation in 3-point percentage this season. The FAMS were also thrilled to learn she is returning for a fifth season.
When Chloe Kitts got hot, she caught fire. In the last 20 minutes of the February matchup against Georgia, she scored 10 of her 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. Kitts had six double-digit games this season, including one a week later when she scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Kentucky as the Gamecocks secured their third consecutive SEC regular-season title with a 103-55 win.
Unselfish play was a hallmark of this season’s team, and it was on full display in late January when all five starters scored in double digits to beat No. 9 LSU 76-70 in Baton Rouge. “They don’t have the players they had last year,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said prior to the high-stakes SEC matchup. “Obviously, they lost a lot. But South Carolina just reloads.”
In February, center Kamilla Cardoso missed three games while trying to help her home country, Brazil, qualify for the 2024 Olympics. In her absence, Sania Feagin stepped up, averaging just under 10 points per game, and she continued to contribute going into the tournament. “Feagin is really one of my favorite players,” Staley told WACH Fox 57. “I’m super hard on her because I see so much talent.”
A perfect season looked all but lost near the end of the SEC tournament semifinal against Tennessee. And then, with just 1.1 seconds left and the Gamecocks down by two, Kamilla Cardoso beat the buzzer with her first three-point attempt as a Gamecock. Staley and Raven Johnson both had faith in Cardoso. “When she’s open, I’m giving her the ball, no ifs, ands or buts,” Johnson told WACH Fox 57. The next day, Carolina beat LSU 79-72 to win their eighth SEC tournament in 10 years.
Led by Tessa Johnson’s sharp shooting and Raven Johnson’s defense — plus Cardoso and Kitts double-doubles — the Gamecocks erased a first-quarter deficit to Caitlin Clark and Iowa by halftime and defeated the Hawkeyes 87-75 to win the title. For the Gamecocks, who came up short against the Hawkeyes in last year’s Final Four, the moment was extra sweet. “All I have to say is, the revenge tour is over,” said Raven Johnson.
Led by Tessa Johnson’s sharp shooting and Raven Johnson’s defense — plus Cardoso and Kitts double-doubles — the Gamecocks erased a first-quarter deficit to Caitlin Clark and Iowa by halftime and defeated the Hawkeyes 87-75 to win the title. For the Gamecocks, who came up short against the Hawkeyes in last year’s Final Four, the moment was extra sweet. “All I have to say is, the revenge tour is over,” said Raven Johnson.

Carolinian Magazine

This article was originally published in Carolinian, the alumni magazine for the University of South Carolina. Meet more dynamic Carolinians and discover once again what makes our university great.

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