Dawn Staley, USC approach NCAA Tournament with mixed feelings

[gtxvideo vid=’TkQtriMp’ thumb=’http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/TkQtriMp.jpg’ vtitle=’Dawn Staley, USC approach NCAA Tournament with mixed feeling’]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — What should have been a time for celebration Monday night quickly turned sour when the the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament selections were announced.

The Gamecocks earned the No. 2 seed in the Albany Regional, but for a program that’s already had its bouts with the NCAA’s selection process, USC was again dealt a bad hand.

The committee placed Carolina in the same regional as No. 1 overall seed UConn, the same program the Gamecocks lost to back in February.

The seeding doesn’t mean anything for the early rounds. The Gamecocks host NC A&T Friday night at Colonial Life Arena to begin the Tournament, but if USC wins its first three games of the Big Dance, and if UConn does the same, the Gamecocks and Huskies would face each other in the Elite 8.

That doesn’t sit well with Dawn Staley.

“I have to speak up for my program, because I don’t think there’s anybody in the room who’s speaking up for our program.”

Staley and the Gamecocks play host to NC A&T Friday night at 7:30.