TAMPA — In their final act, the most successful players in South Carolina Gamecocks basketball history did something they had never done before: They lost an NCAA tournament game to a much better team.
The Gamecocks did not expect this. They have accumulated far too much pride for that. Sure, the Connecticut Huskies blew them out in Columbia in February, but they told themselves the same story their play has told everybody else for years:
But then UConn beat South Carolina, 82–59, in the national championship game, and afterward, Bree Hall sat in the postgame press conference and uttered seven words that no player has ever uttered after losing a national championship game:
“I’m glad I could do this presser.”
Hey … what … huh?
“I’m just not as upset as you would think I would be,” Hall said.
Was this because she knew they lost to a better team, or because she was grateful for all she accomplished?
“A little bit of both,” Hall said. “I mean, they did their thing—I’ve got to give them their credit. But to sit here and be so upset about something like this, when I’ve had such an incredible four years, made history at the program … like, it’s just no reason to be super, super-duper upset.”
Think about the self-assurance required to lose a national championship game and say you’re not that upset. Hall did not sound worried about what fans might say or what WNBA teams might think, and why should she? If she has proven anything in her four years at South Carolina, it’s that she is a winner.