NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL FOUR: UCONN VS SOUTH CAROLINA

April 3, 2022

Dawn Staley

Aliyah Boston

Destanni Henderson

Target Center

South Carolina Gamecocks

Finals Postgame Press Conference

South Carolina 64, UConn 49

DAWN STALEY: Just want to say UConn played an incredible game today. They cut the lead to six, and they just kept fighting and fighting and fighting, and I thought our players were really resilient, and they didn't want to lose this so close to being National Champions. They did not want to lose this battle, so they kicked it into another gear to get it done.

Q. Destanni, you seemed to take over really there in the third quarter. Every time they came back and cut into the lead, you were the one hitting the big bucket. How were you feeling out there and what did you see from their defense that made you say I can exploit this?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: I felt like my teammates put my in a good position to score the basketball. I found open gaps and when they collapsed in the paint, Aliyah or whoever it was that was passing the ball just found me out on the perimeter, and I just let it fly.

Q. To know that you guys have the target on your back, No. 1 team from the beginning of the season to the end, what is that a testament to?

ALIYAH BOSTON: I think it's just a testament to our team and how good we are. I think Coach did a great job of scheduling us a hard nonconference schedule which kept us prepared and we were able to fight through all those games, so it shows you how determined we were to continue to be successful.

Q. Destanni, what the game expired and you realized you were a national champion, you just had a career-high performance and a great performance all around, how did you feel in that moment?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: I really didn't even know I had a career high, to be honest with you. But when people spoke about it and let me know that, it's just even more of a blessing and just an honor to do it in this moment, a special moment that all of us is going to remember forever.

I just feel like my teammates, again, I can't thank them enough. My coach, for just putting me in the best position. These last two years has been the best two years of college basketball for me.

Q. Aliyah, what is your connection with Candace Parker? Had you met her before tonight?

ALIYAH BOSTON: No, I haven't met her, but ever since I was just playing basketball, I loved everything she did, especially in the WNBA. I liked how she was able to use her size and do everything she wanted on the floor. When I saw her in the crowd, I just had a moment.

Q. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the idea of a sports dynasty and if you feel that you guys have kind of cemented your place in basketball history.

ALIYAH BOSTON: I definitely think we have. I think over the past couple years you've just been able to see this program and how it just continues to grow, and I think it's just schools that kids are going to want to come to because of the atmosphere that we have here. Our fans are the best, and Coach Staley is one of the best coaches and she has a great coaching staff, and they just continue to push us every single day.

Q. Aliyah, you and the entire team have said throughout the season that this was the goal. With your being able to come back next year, what's your goal for next year?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Same as this year.

Q. Ever since you stepped on campus you've seen how loved and respected the 2017 team is for winning the first national title. What are your thoughts, the emotions that you've added a second Natty to the accomplishments for the Gamecocks?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: I feel like they just put us in a position to really just be positive and that anything can happen. That was a really good run from them that year, and last year we came so close. And we fought, we fought, we fought since day one, and we knew that we could come out on top this year. That's what we've just been instilled and our coaches have just prepared us for this moment, our teammates believed in us from day one and we came in ready to play and fighting with grit.

Q. Destanni, when you were a sophomore, Dawn Staley sat you down and said that you could be a starter but you're not going to be, and now here you are two years later. How would you describe that journey and what it's meant to you?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: I feel like it was a journey that led me to this moment. I feel like she just -- again, it was easy to trust her. It was easy to trust the process. I had to believe and had to buy into my role, and I feel like it was really worth it. She's a great coach. You just really have to buy in and trust the process and great things will happen for you.

Q. Aliyah, you said that you believe that you guys are now in the dynasty conversation. Did it mean more to take down a team like UConn that has been really the standard bearer or has set the Stanford for so long in women's basketball?

ALIYAH BOSTON: I think it was really good to win a National Championship. To answer your question, I really would say yes because I feel like a lot of people use that as a standard when you look at a program like South Carolina and how much it's developed and how great it is. And I feel like coming into this game, the conversation was about how Coach Auriemma was 11-0 in title games. But Coach Staley was 1-0 and now she's 2-0. And I think it just shows the type of program that she's built and how great it is being a dynasty.

Q. Aliyah, what does Dawn mean to you, especially on a night like this?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Coach Staley, she really means the world. She's like a second mom off of the court. She's someone that I can always depend on, but on the court she's a great coach that pushes me to be the best player that she knows I can be. She's just really the best, and I'm just so blessed that I was able to commit to South Carolina and have this type of leadership to help me grow as a person on and off the court.

Q. I wondered if you could comment on Coach's outfit tonight. Destanni, specifically you because you're the designer of the team. We are also, Dawn, going to need details on the jacket?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: Her fit is always on point every single game. If she comes in the locker room, she sits down really fast because she knows we're going to say something. And it's like as soon as we say something she's like -- she acts so nonchalant about it, but yeah, she definitely can dress.

ALIYAH BOSTON: She got it like that. I'm usually just -- I love watching her outfits because I always have a comment because I know she's going to rock it.

Q. Aliyah, we had a chance to talk to your mom and dad the other day and they were talking about how from the time you were a little kid, you were always ready to go. When it was time to practice, whatever, you had that full commitment. Can you take us back to that little girl? Did she dream this big, and did it all start then, if you will?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, growing up when I first started playing basketball, my initial dream was just to go to college on a full scholarship. And as I started to grow older and really pay attention to basketball, it was like I want to win a National Championship and go to a school where I'm appreciated. And now looking back at that little girl, she's probably really excited because we've done everything that we've wanted to do since we were little, and I can't wait for the future.

Q. Henny, I wanted to ask you about moments again like I was asking yesterday. Just out there postgame, what are some of the small little moments of that day that you're going to remember for the rest of your life?

DESTANNI HENDERSON: I feel like before the game, our practices, Zia specifically saying let's play for RY, and I feel like that right there really took us to the next level and made us really realize why we're here and why we do what we do.

Q. Can you talk about the fans; they certainly were loud tonight. Talk about their commitment to be here for you to help push you to this National Championship.

DESTANNI HENDERSON: Their energy is always, always with us. I feel like they're the best fans ever, and the way they support us. Whether they're here, whether they're outnumbered, you're always going to hear them no matter what. I just really appreciate them, thank them for all the four years that I've been here. Just really appreciative.

Q. Given the heartbreak of the last two seasons, last year losing in the semi and the COVID cancellation, how satisfying is this moment and do you forget about all that now?

ALIYAH BOSTON: It's very satisfying, this goal coming into school winning a National Championship. And last year we fell short and it's not something we can continue to hold on to, but I guess you could say now it's in the back of our mind because we have a National Championship to hold on to.

Q. In 2017 I believe you had the story about Carolyn Peck and the net that you carried around. Is there anything like that for this year and what are you going to do to celebrate this championship going forward?

DAWN STALEY: Actually I got my 2017 piece of the net that I had in my pocket while coaching. I actually had it at the start of our NCAA Tournament in the first and second round. I just had it in a mesh bag hanging off of my backpack, and I just chose today to bring it out and just to have with me throughout the game.

I just think just moving forward, like the net is going to represent something, something in our game, something that will advance our game. I've been thinking, some of our Black male coaches, they don't get opportunity, and I'm also going to -- I'm going to take it a step further, some of our Black journalists don't get an opportunity to elevate. So we're going to try to cut this net up, give them a piece of it, and just hope that it will be something that they can utilize to advance in the area that their heart desires to in their field.

I'll do that. It's going to be hard trying to figure all y'all out, so if y'all can just email me or find my number, text me, send me your address so I can make it happen.

Q. Along those lines, I believe you're the first Black coach, men's or women's, to win two championships ever. Does that mean anything special to you that you're now in a class by yourself that way?

DAWN STALEY: I mean, this journey of being a coach has been truly gratifying. I have to reflect on this part of it. Like it comes with a great deal of pressure, pressure because we were the No. 1 team in the country throughout the entire season, pressure to come into the NCAA Tournament and be the favorites, by most people not all. Certainly not who we went up against today. I think that changed the narrative a little bit because of the success that UConn has had in our tournament.

I felt a great deal of pressure to win because I'm a Black coach. Because if we don't win, then you bring in so many other -- just scrutiny. Like you can't coach, you had enough to get it done but yet you failed. You feel all of that, and you feel it probably 10 times more than anyone else because we're at this platform.

I've got to address something else, as well, while I got the mic. I don't know who wrote an article about our players not being out on the court for the National Anthem. We're just creatures of habit, creatures of habit. I think the National Anthem was played at the 12- or 10-minute mark, and that's just not the time that we're out on the court because of our pregame ritual, okay. If the National Anthem is at 0:00 like it was today, we were out there standing for the National Anthem.

So whoever that person, journalist was that wrote that, please do your research, ask the questions before you go out and write an article, and then I'm called all kinds of names, our players are called all kinds of names. Before you do that, please fact check and don't put us under the gun like that because it was a distraction for us. I didn't let it be a distraction, but it was a distraction.

People were on all of my accounts and all that. I can take the heat. But when you write something and it's during one of the most important times of our season, let it be factual. Let it be factual.

I think we could come up with a whole lot of different things you could write about our basketball team during this time than to write something like that that was full of untruths. And then the other articles come out from that, and then we're called unpatriotic, we're called -- some of the nastiness, and it's because we're a predominantly Black team.

So when you do that, understand your power, and if it's facts, I can't fight that. But they were full of untruths.

Q. You've spoken on this podium so many times about if you can see it, you can be, and being a role model for Black coaches. And tonight in the wake of this win, so many Black women around the sport of women's basketball have praised you for doing it. To hear the praise, what does that mean to you?

DAWN STALEY: You know, it really makes me emotional. It does, because I am their hope. Like I am their hope. I am the person that they strive -- not me, just where I sit winning National Championships. That's what they want to do.

If I can be that ray of hope, if I can be a vessel of theirs to them being successful, you know, I am a willing giver of this game, because the game has given me so much. I mean, so much. My cup runneth over when it comes to what the game has given to me, so I am forever in debt in trying to repay the game.

I do that with just giving them my time, my expertise or just my opinion on things to help advance young coaches of all colors.

Q. You've made it a point to say you wanted people to see Aliyah's smile, not that crying face from last year. What did it mean to you to see her climb the ladder and cut down the net tonight? And how did you spend your day with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off? Did you get your hair done? Did you get your nails done?

DAWN STALEY: You know, I'm incredibly happy for Aliyah because, one, I think a player like Aliyah doesn't realize her power. I think she's really a nice young lady, and she wants everything to be smooth, smooth sailing. She doesn't want any conflict. She's not confrontational. When you are like that, you don't really understand the power of being dominant. Like it's such a -- probably a masculine adjective.

Like to be dominant seems masculine. But it's not. Very few athletes are able to be dominant, and when you are one of those athletes, if you don't have somebody around you that recognizes it, they'll allow you to just fly under the radar and blend in with other people who aren't going to excel at the rate that Aliyah can excel.

I've been around a lot of great basketball players who have been dominant, and I saw it in her, and I would not allow her to be anything less than that, even if I had to hurt her. A lot of parents, they don't want their children to hurt, and it's almost a disservice to them. Like it hurts them. Like you have to put your child in an uncomfortable situation in order for them to grow.

I don't think her parents -- her parents are that way because they're very disciplined. But from a basketball standpoint, I think I'm the perfect coach for her because I recognize what her gifts are and how to walk into that.

And then my day. I couldn't sleep. I was up, so I walked an hour on the treadmill at 6:00, 6:00 to 7:00, then I packed my clothes up, packed my suitcase up, and then we had shootaround. I actually had some breakfast today. I usually don't eat breakfast, but the eggs here are good, so I had breakfast, and then we had shootaround.

Then after shootaround, we played cards a lot. We played cards. We played cards for a few hours. Got my hair done, and then it was time for pregame. After pregame it's just we're getting ready for the game.

It was long. Could we have played this game at 3:00? Yeah, but I actually liked it. I liked that we were in primetime, one of two last games of college basketball, so I know -- I hope it was watched by a whole lot of people. I'm just basking in our glory of winning the National Championship.

Q. Who are you wearing? Can you give us the details of that? That's what you say to celebrities when they're on the red carpet.

DAWN STALEY: Who are you wearing? See, I didn't know that.

Q. What brand are you wearing?

DAWN STALEY: Louis Vuitton (chuckling).

Q. Sue and Diana have been doing an alternate telecast and bringing on guests, and today they were telling stories about you as an Olympic teammate. Diana detailed when you made her go got donuts for the entire team her first season and she was really offended because she was the National Player of the Year, and you told her that didn't matter. I was just curious, they seemed to bring in a lot of new fans to the game with their telecast. How important is that, that these two people in the twilight of their careers, they're going to do something else that can bring eyeballs to a game that's exploding in popularity?

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, it has grown our game. I don't really think that's innovative. I think it's out there. We got the people that can just walk into that and be that. Like we could have been something like that. But I do think it takes someone like Sue and Diana who people want to hear. They want to hear their greatness. They want to hear the stories of who impacted their lives and their careers.

And I think they're pretty darned funny. Like they're funny. They're hilarious. I did tape it. I didn't see it. I did record it because I want to watch what they were saying during our game today when I get home.

Q. What did you learn about this journey from winning that second title compared to that first one, and how much more difficult was it to be able to get back to that point?

DAWN STALEY: You know, I learned that culture matters. I learned that chemistry matters. I learned that the majority of your team really has to be locked in. Like the majority. Because a big part of our team are made up of young players that if they were the majority, they wouldn't know how to navigate through a season in which you're the No. 1 team throughout the entire season. And they don't know the heartaches of what took place last year when we fell short in the semifinals.

So you need players who have an incredible, insatiable desire to want to succeed and win a National Championship, or else it won't take place.

Q. We asked Aliyah about the question of a dynasty. Do you feel that you guys can be in that conversation yet? And as a Black woman, a Black head coach, how important is it for you to have a dynasty, to be at the top of the game for a long, consistent period of time?

DAWN STALEY: I don't think winning two National Championships or going to the Final Four back to back is considered a dynasty in my day and age. Aliyah and social media, yeah, they think they're doing something really good. But just look at the tradition of UConn and what they were able to do. They're the standard. If it takes winning 11 National Championships to be a dynasty, I'm probably going to fall short of that because I'm not going to be in the game long enough for us to win 11.

What I think is important as a Black woman and coach is the way you do it, like the example that you set for other coaches to follow. I am one that respects the game. I'm not a coach that thinks because we've got it going on, because we're winning, that I'm this almighty speak my opinion on things.

No, even if things are -- like, we lost to Missouri, I thought it was great for the game. Like super great. They beat the No. 1 team in the country. They act like they won a National Championship. It's great, like seriously. We lose to Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship. Do I like to lose? Heck no, but it was really good for the game, at our expense. But I get the big picture. I do. I get the big picture.

I just want to be a great example of how to do things the right way and keep our game in a place where the integrity is intact, because that's the way we'll grow. That is the exact way we'll grow is just lifting each other up, giving us a platform where we're encouraging, we are helping each individual be the best that they can be and succeed.

Q. I want to go back to the word "dominant." When you look at all the ranked teams that you beat this year, do you think this team should be remembered not only for winning a National Championship but for being one of the most dominant teams we've seen?

DAWN STALEY: I would. I would. With the schedule that we played, with how we lost our two basketball games, with how we played. We didn't have like dominating performances all of our games, but part of being dominant is being able to win when you're not playing to the best of your ability. You find a way to win.

So yes, for this year, and I won't take it into next year, but for this year, from the beginning to the end and how it ended, yes.

Q. How would you describe the importance of Henny's performance tonight and her overall impact on your program?

DAWN STALEY: You know, Destanni Henderson is the epitome of trusting the process. Her mom, epitome of trusting the process. She never wavered, even when Henny had an out to leave after her freshman year. She had an out, had a terrible experience.

But I did tell them during the season, I said, if you just hang in there with me, the next three years of your career won't be like this. You will really enjoy it. I was glad that I had that conversation with them, and it ended up this way.

But she's trusted the process. She's a quiet soul, smooth operator, but she had a different look this tournament because she knew it was going to be her last tournament.

So each and every game, whether she had great, great performances or not, she was locked in. And if she wasn't, this wouldn't happen, because basketball has a funny way of repaying you for not treating it the right way. She treated it the right way, and she was super aggressive on both sides of the basketball.

Like we started her off on Paige, and we really -- plan B was to put a bigger body on her, like rebuild. And we didn't really have to do that because Henny was super focused on just making it really hard for her. Paige made some incredible shots, but we wanted 40 minutes of making her work, making her work, exhausting her.

A minute 30, 35, 40, those shots that usually go in, she might have some tired legs. Henny was the catalyst for that.

Q. Following up on the question about Henny, after the 2020 season ended she had a very heartfelt message for Ty and Kiki and called them her favorite group of seniors. After what she's done in this game this season, what is your take on Henny as your senior leader and she's etched her name in the record books?

DAWN STALEY: Growth. You want your seniors to end their careers the way Henny ended her career. Not necessarily national champion, but just growth. Like there are certain things that need to take place each and every year of your college career. Henny was patient enough to wait for those things, and now she'll go on, like she'll be in the record books. She'll be the one that we'll remember her performance, we'll remember her doing the job both offensively and defensively. And I just know whatever franchise gets her in the WNBA is going to get a good one. Low maintenance, high performer.

Q. I just want to follow up on something that you said earlier in regards to giving a piece of your net to Black journalists. Why is it important to have diversity in the newsroom?

DAWN STALEY: You said why?

Q. Yes.

DAWN STALEY: I mean, we're colorful. We bring a different perspective that a lot of times we're not in the room. Like we're not in the room.

Pretty much everybody could think the same ways because that's the way the system works. But the moment you bring a diverse person in the room, it's a lot different than what the norm is. We need differences. Like I see Coach Boyer sitting here. Like we go at it back and forth, and we know at the end of the day it's just love. I've said a few choice words to her today during the game.

But I listen to her. Like I don't want somebody saying the same things that I'm saying. You grow when there's a different perspective in the room. You may not agree. You can agree to disagree agreeably, but you need a diverse group of people in all walks of life, in all professions, because that's where growth takes place.

Q. I saw you take the championship trophy and bring it to the pep band. Can you explain to me why you made that decision and why it's important for you to keep people like that involved?

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, I've got a fascination with the band. Like the band, they just seem like they have so much fun. That's one. Two, they didn't get to experience the NCAA Tournament last year, and every time we've won something big, a championship, they've played. They've enjoyed it just as much as we have, and they don't get a whole lot of exposure.

I just think young people -- I want young people to experience -- like I want them to remember great experiences. Like I know some of our fans who have been band members. They follow us. They get in their car, they're on flights and they're here because of how we made them feel in moments of like great pride. They're students at the University of South Carolina, and they've been here for a long time in this city, doing the thing that they love, and why not. Why not have them have pictures with the National Championship trophy, because they, in fact, helped us. They created an atmosphere that -- we hear them. We hear them. They're a part of the whole experience of being in the gym. So I think it's a pretty cool experience for them.

Q. I asked you back in November whether this team had a chance to be your best team ever. You said, we have a chance to be. So I'm circling back to you now. Is this your best team ever, and if so, how and why did you get there?

DAWN STALEY: I do think this is our best team, just the roster from top to bottom, the commitment to their roles. And then you've got to go back last year, like no other team have played in back to back Final Fours. No other team has been the No. 1 team in the country from beginning to the end and then win the National Championship.

Then they can defend. This team can really, really defend. I think we're an elite defensive team. That's the separator from my other teams.

Q. I wanted to ask you about little girls who look up to you and this entire team as role models, and after this incredible accomplishment tonight what you would say to them about pushing forward and achieving their dreams, overcoming obstacles and disappointments.

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, when you watch a sports team, when you follow them, when you see them after they lose basketball games or they have poor performances and then they're able to come and take a picture with you or they'll wave at you in those moments, those are great, like, teaching moments. Because we're people first, and if you can make somebody feel good, like really feel good -- like a young person, if you make them feel good, they grow up thinking about those experiences, and they in turn will venture out and look for people for them to make feel good. Then it's just a cycle that continues.

If we have enough of them, we'll live in a better world.

Q. After UConn hit back-to-back threes late in the third, I wanted to know what you said in that time-out and how your team responded to what you said.

DAWN STALEY: I said, here we go again. Here we go again. We take bad shots. We turn the basketball over, and UConn licks their chops in those scenarios. I think we called a time-out. Yeah, I did call a time-out. Usually I don't call a time-out because I know exactly what was taking our place, but our team needed a time-out just so we could refocus so we could understand we can't have too many of those instances where we allow them to take uncontested shots. They understood, and they went out and made better decisions and we opened up a bigger lead.

Q. I need to know will you be getting another dog, and if so, what will he or she be named?

DAWN STALEY: I've got a name picked out already. Whether or not Champ agrees on wanting a sibling, that's a different story. It's been four years, and he doesn't get along with other dogs. I've got the name picked out. You want to know the name? The name is Natty. So just imagine, Natty, Champ, get over here. Sounds good, right?