South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thanks 'GOAT' Caitlin Clark after NCAA title win

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has backtracked on her pre-championship game comments on Caitlin Clark, as she described the Iowa star as the 'GOAT', while thanking her for 'lifting our game' after bursting into tears following the Gamecocks' NCAA title win.

Staley, who has been in charge of South Carolina's women basketball program since 2008, struggled to find the right words to describe what she was feeling and needed a minute to compose herself after winning her second NCAA championship with the Gamecocks in three years and third overall. 

In a postgame interview with ESPN, she teared up on camera while players uplifted her despite clearly feeling overwhelmed with emotions. 

'I'm so proud, so proud,' Staley, who wore a multi-thousand-dollar Louis Vuitton jacket at Sunday's game said into the microphone at first. 'I am so incredibly happy for our players. It doesn't always end like you want it to end, much like last year... I'm just super proud of where I work, I'm super proud of our fans. It's awesome and unbelievable.'

'[...] I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,' she added in tribute to the NCAA's leading scorer in both men and women's college hoops. 'She carried a heavy load for our sport. ... Caitlin Clark if you're out there you're one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.'

Clark poured in a game-high 30 points in Sunday's national championship against unbeaten South Carolina (38-0), including a record 18 in the opening quarter.

The 22-year-old cooled off a bit from there, however, as the Gamecocks pulled away for an 87-75 victory, making the Hawkeyes the national runner-up for a second straight season.

Clark made 10 of 28 shots - including 5 of 13 3-pointers - and finished her four-year stay in Iowa City, Iowa with 3,951 points, and record-breaking personal success. She added five assists and eight rebounds in this year's title game.

Clark's run to a consecutive NCAA final helped shaped the women's tournament into appointment television. Her displays have set a new TV ratings record for women's college basketball twice in the last week alone, with another record likely waiting after the title game. 

'You have to let young people be who they are,' Staley after South Carolina's 87-75 win, referring to Clark and her own players. 

'But you also have to guide them and help navigate them. When young people lock in and have a belief and have a trust, and their parents have that same trust, this is what can happen. 

'They made history. They etched their names into history books.'