HC Dawn Staley quotes Serena Williams for South Carolina’s “pregame meal”

Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks will be defending their NCAA championship win this season. The No. 1 ranked team has made a winning start to their campaign but has a long way to go.

On Thursday, Staley gave an update about their practice session before the home opener against Coppin State. Sharing a photo of a verse from the bible and another of Serena Willliams' quote on X, the coach wrote:

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"Shootaround and pregame meal done. Check!"

The quote from the former tennis player read:

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"The success of every woman should be an inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you're very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble."

The tip-off against the Eagles famously happened via social media after Dawn Staley put out a message requesting for teams to reach out for games.

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“Really sorry I have to resort to this but-we need a game,” she wrote. “I’ve had some nice, funny and outlandish convos regarding scheduling a game [home and home] with a guarantee and guaranteed a great student-athlete experience. Any interest please let me know. Need to finish this schedule.”

Later, the game against Coppin State was added to the schedule. South Carolina will travel to Baltimore in 2025 for a return game.

Dawn Staley shares her excitement ahead of home opener

South Carolina opened the season in Las Vegas against Michigan as part of the Hall of Fame series. They then traveled to North Carolina for the tip-off against NC State. After victories in both games, the Gamecocks are now on home ground at the Colonial Life arena.

Commenting on their home opener, Dawn Staley said:

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“It’s unfortunate that we had to play two games at neutral sites to open the season. I guess it’s a buildup to playing at home. I hope that people come out and support us and do it in a fashion of raising another banner. That’s always exciting.

"To play in front of our fans, but we’ve been pretty fortunate in that every place we play, Vegas and Charlotte, it really felt like a home game. But this is really a home game where we’ll be in the comfort of CLA, and hopefully, we can play the type of basketball that everybody is accustomed to seeing.”

After the undefeated championship run last season, fans are hopeful for another title this season. While the Gamecocks are the favorites for a repeat championship, they have heavy competition against several equally talent-stacked teams.

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