WATCH: 2x WNBA champ A’ja Wilson marks her presence to support Dawn Staley’s South Carolina crew during Final Four showdown

Dawn Staley`s South Carolina Gamecocks have broken through to the national championship after beating NC State, 78-59, in the Final Four on Friday. They had a lot of supporters backing them, and one of the bigger names on their side was 2x WNBA champion and former Gamecock A`ja Wilson.

Wilson was seen pregame by the South Carolina bench and was caught on video giving Staley a warm hug. A video of their interaction was posted on X by Yahoo Sports:

Here`s another video on X, this time posted by NCAA March Madness:

Wilson is a former NCAA champion under Dawn Staley. The current member of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces played for South Carolina from 2014 to 2018 and finished her college career as the Gamecocks` all-time leading scorer.

In the 2017 season, she helped lead South Carolina to the national title for the first time. It was also the school`s first Final Four appearance at the time. As a three-time SEC Player of the Year, A`Ja Wilson led the team against the 2-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs in the national championship game, tallying 23 points in the matchup.

While Wilson wouldn`t win another title for Dawn Staley and company, the Gamecocks did win their second national championship in 2022 after going 35-2 overall in the regular season. Since A`Ja Wilson played for them, South Carolina has been one of the definitive powers in NCAA women`s basketball. This year, they`re showing it once again.

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Dawn Staley and South Carolina`s immense success

Since hiring head coach Dawn Staley in the 2008-2009 season, South Carolina has experienced immense success in NCAAW basketball.

During her time in Columbia, Staley has led the Gamecocks to a total of 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2011-2012 to the current season (barring 2019-2020 due to COVID-19 when the team was named the `de facto` champion). This includes their two national title wins in 2017 and 2022, and most notably, they`ve never been eliminated early in all but the 2012-2013 season.

That year, the Gamecocks bowed out of March Madness in the second round to 12-seed Kansas as the 4-seed. They went 25-8 that year and were led in scoring by Aleighsa Welch, who was eventually drafted to the WNBA by the Chicago Sky.

Now, Dawn Staley and South Carolina are on the precipice of another potential NCAA title. They`re currently the first team to break through to the national championship, waiting for the winner of Iowa versus UConn.