"I'm triggered" - South Carolina HC Dawn Staley expresses concerns about officiating in NCAA tournament

Dawn Staley, South Carolina's head coach, has long faced criticism for her physical defensive style. There have also been conflicts with officials, like during the 2023 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal versus Iowa, which resulted in the team being judged unfairly for fouls.

As the Gamecocks prepare for the NCAA Tournament set to begin on March 20, Staley expressed her thoughts on the officiating going into it.

“I’m triggered from what took place last year. Because I feel like we are bigger than most teams, so our bigs endure a lot more than they should. I don’t want our team to be deemed overly physical,” Staley said.

“I just don’t want the narrative. We had another coach speak on our team last year, heading into the NCAA Tournament. … It was a bit much (Sunday). It was a bit much in the Final Four,” Staley added.

Last year, after the team's 81-77 loss to the Gamecocks, UConn coach Geno Auriemma criticized how South Carolina's Zia Cooke defended the Huskies's Lou Lopez-Senechal.

"If you want to bring Lou in and see the bruises on her body, it is just appalling what teams do to her now. It's not basketball anymore. I don't know what it is but it's not basketball," Auriemma said.

Dawn Staley responded, saying that she was sick of the way her team was being described and adding that they were just locked into the game. But this was not the only time South Carolina's game was questioned.

Dawn Staley defends her team after the 2023 Final Four officiating controversy

The Gamecocks lost the 2023 NCAA Tournament Final Four game against the Iowa Hawkeyes due to inconsistent officiating. They were called for 20 fouls, including two from forward Aliyah Boston, in the first nine minutes of the game. She sat out the whole second quarter, scoring eight points in 25 minutes.

Post-game, SC guard Cooke noted that the referees officiated them differently in the SEC. The probable reason could be that the league officials are used to the physicality with which the Gamecocks play.

"In my opinion I don't think they call games like that in SEC play," Cooke said. "You couldn't do anything. They were doing the same stuff to us, but hey, it was hard, and it was definitely hard for our post players to be who they are tonight." (via ESPN)

For her part, Dawn Staley defended her team, saying:

"People got to do what they got to do to win. I'm not going to stoop that low. We've won a lot of basketball games doing it this way. We're not changing."

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think South Carolina takes physical defense to the extreme? Let us know in the comments section below.