Is there a cooler team than the South Carolina Gamecocks?
The women’s college basketball national champions celebrated their second NCAA title in three years on Sunday with a victory parade in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gamecocks beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 in Cleveland on April 7.
Head coach Dawn Staley fittingly rolled through the streets of the city in a white Rolls-Royce Dawn. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, expressing the difficulty of thinking what to give the most-fashionable coach in women’s college basketball, presented her with a wrestling belt, which she held up to the cheers of the crowd.
A celebration video showed highlights of the Gamecocks’ tournament run, which capped off an undefeated season, with the song “We Win” by Kirk Franklin and Lil Baby serving as the soundtrack. Julia Westerman, of local news outlet WIS-10, reported that the Richland County coroner’s office had a float with tombstones of each of the teams South Carolina beat en route to the title.
Te-Hina Paopao shared some words about the unity of the team and promised fans, “It’s time for our repeat tour.”
Kamilla Cardoso skipped orientation for the WNBA draft to be with her teammates. She rode in a gray-green Chevrolet Corvette and hoisted the national championship trophy through the streets.
Once the caravan reached its final destination at the State House, Staley spoke to the crowd wearing a visor, round sunglasses, her beaded necklace and a black T-shirt that said, “You win some, you lose none.” She gave some insight into the emotional speech she gave mentioning “uncommon favor” after winning the title game, which was revenge on Iowa after being knocked out of the Final Four last season.
“I don’t know that everybody really understands what uncommon favor is,” she said. “Uncommon favor is when your mother or your father told you, ‘I can show you better than I can tell you.’ After we planned to be here last year during this time, it wasn’t harvest time. It wasn’t. And it was a devastating loss for all who were part of it. And I was hurt deeply, deeply. It didn’t destroy my faith, but I did ask why. … God sometimes says, ‘I can show you better than I can tell you.'”
Staley, who is the first Black coach to win three national championships, thanked school administrators, the local media and her team. Her expression of gratitude for the fans continued the theme that this season was extraordinary.
“The love that you pour into us as we drove down main street, it is uncommon,” she said, “and I really, really deeply appreciate your love, your unconditional love.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dawn Staley, South Carolina celebrate NCAA title at victory parade
