JUST IN:Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) Introduces Resolution Commending Women’s Basketball National Champions

Today, Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) introduced a resolution commending the University of South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team for winning the 2024 National Collegiate Athletics Association Women’s National Basketball Championship.

This is the program’s third national championship and its second in three years. In addition to achieving the sports tenth-ever perfect record, the team’s national title victory was the highest rated broadcast in women’s basketball history.

“Congratulations to the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team on their impressive, undefeated season and their 2024 NCAA national championship title,” said Congressman Fry. “As a proud Gamecock, it’s been a thrill to watch this program as it continues its run of unprecedented success.”

Read the official resolution congratulating the Lady Gamecocks basketball team here.

Congressman Fry serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Oversight Committee, and the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. He also serves as the Republican freshman class president.

Dawn Staley is leading the way. If you’re new to collegiate women’s basketball, Staley’s name will be one of the first to pop up when researching the current landscape of the sport — the 53-year-old coach serves as a key player in women’s basketball’s meteoric rise. Staley is the head coach for the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team, The Gamecocks, who have reached historic heights. They are the 2017, 2022 and 2024 National Championship winners in the NCAA women’s basketball division — a huge feat for the team and for Staley, the first Black coach (man or woman) to do such a thing.

Staley is originally from Philadelphia and began playing basketball as a young kid. She played in high school at Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School and even won the national high school player of the year award her senior year. After playing point guard for the University of Virginia, she played professionally in the WNBA. In 2012 Staley was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She then won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player, and later coached another US Olympic team to the gold.

Staley coached the women’s basketball team at Temple University starting in 2000, starting when she was still in the WNBA, and continuing for eight years. During that time, her team won six NCAA tournaments, three regular-season conference championships, and four conference tournament titles. In May of 2008 Staley was named the head coach of USC and has gone on to shape the future generation of leaders in women’s basketball.

We caught up with Staley at the Nike On Air event in Paris, France to talk about the evolution of women’s basketball and what it takes to play for her winning team at USC.

Teen Vogue: How do you think this season of women’s collegiate basketball changed the perspective of the way people viewed the sport?

Dawn Staley: I think if this is the first time that you’ve sat down or attended a women’s basketball game, you’re locked in. You’re locked in. You’ll be buying season tickets somewhere. You will be tuned in somewhere. And I think it is great because now if one person, like a Caitlin Clark, sold you on watching or sold you on coming to see her play, I’m sure you walked away with seeing other players who you didn’t know anything about, that you’ll want to follow. So I think it is going to help our overall game grow.