A flag was raised on Thursday afternoon at the Colonial Life Arena that no other team could raise. The South Carolina women’s basketball team ended the 2019-20 season as the nation’s # 1 unanimous team, and now there is a banner on the rafters that says so.
With the NCAA tournament canceled last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no crowned national champion. Head coach Dawn Staley said that hanging a banner that said “National Champions” was not an option, but that banner is not something that any other team can be proud of.
“I like it because no one else in the country is able to do that,” said Staley. “It was fun to see that at the time. The task at hand is what is before us and the one who is next. “
That feeling when the banner falls … pic.twitter.com/o8H4hvG6NQ
– GamecockWBB (@GamecockWBB) December 31, 2020
Second-year student Zia Cooke, a freshman on last season’s top-ranked team, said she and her teammates knew a flag was falling, but they didn’t know what would be on it. But the moments together and seeing last year’s achievements unfold gave them an added boost to the game against Florida.
“We didn’t know what to say,” said Cooke. “It was a very good reaction for all of us. We were all sitting, like, ‘I can’t wait to see what you say’. It was definitely a good feeling and it brought us enthusiasm for the game ”.
South Carolina won the opening of the Southeast Conference against Florida on Thursday at Colonial Life Arena 75-59. Post-player Aliyah Boston ended the game with 28 points, her career record. She also surpassed the 500-point career mark, becoming the 11th fasting player in Gamecock’s history, reaching the mark in just 39 games.
“We had no idea. We were all in shock, ”said Boston of the flag ceremony. “The banner only shows all the hard work we’ve done and what the past season was like for us. It is the motivation for us to do what we need to hang another banner. “
While Boston scored a game with 28 points, Cooke was not far behind, scoring 26 out of 10 out of 22 shots, including 6 to 6 from the free-throw line.
The Gamecocks will travel to face Alabama in their first road game of the season on January 4. The complaint is scheduled for 19h and will be transmitted by SEC Network.