Dawn Staley says women's basketball is right up there with the Super Bowl after South Carolina loss

Dawn Staley highlighted the increased popularity of women's basketball after No. 2 South Carolina faced its second loss of the season against No. 4 Texas 66-62 on Sunday.

While the coach commended Vic Schaefer's roster in the postgame conference, she also gave her take on the current state of women's basketball in terms of marketability and fan following. The matchup between the Longhorns and Gamecocks was chosen to be a lead into the Super Bowl.

"Honestly, we're it right now, women's basketball is it right now," she said. "Like you just said it, they're not going to be any women's game on to be the prelude to the Super Bowl. They put it on cause they knew the ratings will be there. They knew it was going to be a tightly matched basketball game."

"I just hope now that people are seeing the game being showcased that will get the respect in all areas, revenue sharing, we get the respect in all areas that out game deserves."

Women's college basketball saw its viewership peak in its latest NCAA championship game between Dawn Staley's Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game was witnessed by 18.7 million viewers on average (24 million at most), surpassing the men's final between UConn and Purdue.

Ticket sales are another factor contributing to the overall popularity of the sport, with schools like South Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky and more selling out the season tickets before the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.

Dawn Staley commends Texas' forwards

The Gamecocks loss was highlighted by Madison Booker, who posted a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, enabling Texas to hold the fort. Dawn Staley praised the sophomore forward.

"Booker is a great player, she gets to her spots," she said " Staley said (at 2:17). "I thought she did a great job rebounding, she was a beast on the boards."

"She got a really crucial rebound in the fourth quarter where we got the stop. It's just, we had the switch. Breezy wasn't on her, smaller guard on her - she took advantage of it, gave them another possession and they scored."

Dawn Staley also appreciated junior Kyla Oldacre's impact, saying that she helped Vic Schaefer ensure that the Gamecocks do not mount a comeback in the fourth quarter.