A prophecy unfulfilled
A story of the South Carolina women’s basketball team, their seniors, and how a dream of a title run was crushed by coronavirus.
Over the last twelve years, Dawn Staley has been building her own college basketball dynasty at the University of South Carolina. Atop her throne, Staley has delivered dominant teams year after year. During her tenure, her teams have made eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including four sweet sixteens, an elite eight, a final four and a National Championship in 2017. This season, her Gamecocks were destined for another ‘One Shining Moment’ in New Orleans, until COVID-19 denied them the opportunity to fulfill their prophecy.
When the coronavirus sidelined the sports world, it brought an abrupt end to the season for the Gamecocks. Media quickly sought out Coach Staley for her reaction to the news. In an interview with ESPN’s Reece Davis, Staley said, “This by far would’ve been the most competitive women’s basketball NCAA Tournament ever. It was packed with exciting players, talented players… It’s so hard to have just the bottom just drop out… I was dreading having to text our team, especially our seniors, that they won’t be able to realize their dreams after having somewhat of a dream season for them.”
With a nearly perfect record, there was no opponent too formidable for South Carolina. A 32–1 overall record, 16–0 in conference play, a regular season and SEC Tournament Championship, and wins over powerhouse programs like Baylor, Mississippi State, and UConn was all on their resume. Following their only loss to Indiana on Nov. 28th, the Gamecocks reeled off 26 consecutive wins, scoring an average of 82 points per game, making it virtually undisputed that the title would find its way to Columbia.
This team was well-balanced with talent at every position and both the back and front court had distinct veteran leadership. Tyasha “Ty” Harris was the fearless leading lady at point guard, while Mikiah “Kiki” Herbert Harrigan was anchoring the boards. Harris became the third player under Staley at South Carolina, along with future WNBA stars Tiffany Mitchell and A’ja Wilson, to finish as a finalist in all three national player of the year awards — Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy, and the Wooden Award. This season, Harrigan was selected first team All-SEC and topped it off with a dominant SEC Tournament performance. After averaging 14.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks, she earned Tournament MVP honors. This was the season that would bring those two seniors full circle and put them in the position to finish their college career in the same place they started it back in 2017, as champions.
Fully charged and ready to make a run at another NCAA title, the Gamecocks had their National Championship dreams crushed. Their destiny was clearly in front of them and so close, they could almost taste it. On March 12th, the NCAA announced the cancellation of both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, thus ending South Carolina’s quest. They were expected to be the tournament’s №1 overall seed and begin their championship run only an hour and a half away from home in Greenville.
University of South Carolina Athletic Director, Ray Tanner said, “I know that our student athletes, coaches and administrators are disappointed right now. We provide great opportunities for our student athletes to grow and learn, this is one of those times. This is one of those times that doesn’t involve sport.” As for his comments relating to the women’s basketball team, Tanner admitted, “We were on quite a run, and if I’m not mistaken we were 32–1 and ranked #1 in both polls and we won the regular season title and the tournament championship. So in my mind we are number one.”
The NCAA went on to announce that no school would be named National Champions for either the men’s or women’s tournaments. However, Dawn Staley felt differently. In an interview with ESPN’s Reece Davis, she stated that her Gamecocks deserved to be named the National Champion. “We ended the season as the number one team in the country with the best record in the country, and the only team that won their regular season and conference tournament. I think if they’re going to pass out a championship trophy, we got our hands out at South Carolina.”
Even with their senior season cut short, the future was still bright for Harris and Harrigan. Their stock for the WNBA were quickly rising as the April 17th draft approached. Harris was projected to be a first round pick, while Harrigan bounced between first and second round predictions. The four-year teammates were in for a special surprise, as they were ultimately selected back-to-back in the first round. Harrigan was selected 6th overall by the Minnesota Lynx, while Harris went 7th to the Dallas Wings. With the addition of these two, the Gamecocks have had seven first-round picks in the last six seasons.
In a video for Gamecock Women’s Basketball on Twitter, Staley praised Harris and Harrigan, saying, “[These are] two players who are working from different ends of the spectrum, but are able to accomplish success… doing it their way…We only wish them much success in the WNBA.”
As for the senior leaders of the squad, they will go on to professional careers and start a new legacy in the WNBA. In their own individual interviews with Gamecocks Online, both Harris and Harrigan reflected on their time in garnet and black.
“This year, I had a lot of confidence in myself,” Harrigan admitted. “I focused on my maturity on and off the court. Just knowing it was our senior year, Ty (Harris) and I had to lead that young group that we had. I just tried to lead by example.”
In the conclusion of Harris’s interview, she reminisced on her historic career at UofSC and said, “I’d like to be remembered as a person that was true and loyal to the team, a great leader, a person that my teammates could confide in, a great on-and-off the floor person with a goofy personality, a loving person, a person who loved basketball and a person who would do anything for the team.”
The result… a prophecy that will remain unfulfilled. We will never know what the outcome of the 2020 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament would have been. This season, filled with so much potential, excitement, and electrifying basketball, will be remembered in the record books by a simple asterisk, *cancelled due to COVID-19.
