“Let’s freaking goooo” - Dawn Staley hypes up South Carolina baseball crew as Gamecocks bag first NCAA Tournament game against Utah

South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley was pumped after the university's softball team got its first win in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks (35-22) earned a 2-1 victory over Utah (34-21) on Friday to get a crucial boost in the NCAA championship regionals.

Soon after the game, Staley posted an image of the Gamecocks softball team's celebrations on X and wrote:

"Let’s freaking goooooo @GamecockSoftbll! Way to finish it!! We had a few game go the other way but we finished it! Go get another one!!!"

Both South Carolina and Utah finished the game with four hits each. Gamecocks pitcher Alana Vawter racked up four strikeouts and two walks across seven innings. She eventually closed out the victory after South Carolina edged to a 2-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Utah is facing elimination from the NCAA championship regionals. The Utes will play their next game on Saturday, against the loser of the matchup between No. 10 Duke and Morgan State.

After the defeat against South Carolina, Utah coach Amy Hogue expressed her disappointment while addressing the media.

“We didn’t play our best today,” Hogue said. “We were prepared, and yet had some second guessing and some uncomfortable at-bats. They carried too far into the game. Before you know it, we were running out of outs. Pretty disappointing to come out Day 1 that flat.”

The Gamecocks, on the other hand, will play the winner between Duke and Morgan State.

Dawn Staley won the national championship with the South Carolina Gamecocks basketball team in 2024

South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball coach Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley led the South Carolina basketball team to national championship glory this year. The Gamecocks went through the entire season undefeated in a historic campaign.

South Carolina beat Caitlin Clark's Iowa 87-75 in the national championship game. It was the third time Staley led the Gamecocks to the national title since taking charge of the team in 2008.

Now, Staley will be cheering for the Gamecocks' softball team as it attempts to make a deep run in the postseason.