South Carolina routs Oklahoma in Sweet 16 for ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ coach Dawn Staley
It’s all business with grit and determination plus a blast of fun and flair for the South Carolina Gamecocks, one of the top women’s basketball programs in the country over the last 10 years.
The driving force is a coach who is mostly no-nonsense, as Dawn Staley admits to having a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality, which is to say she can be as serious as a heart attack and then be as loose as a comedian in an instant.
And there was Staley prowling the sideline on Saturday afternoon at Golden 1 Center in a Sweet 16 showdown with a Southeastern Conference rival, her game face contrasted by what was on her shirt. It was the image of star Gamecocks star guard Raven Johnson, and what student-athlete wouldn’t get a kick out of a famed coach doing such a cool and unorthodox thing?
“Yeah, I see my beautiful self,” Johnson said with a laugh.
More good times: South Carolina looked the part of a top seed in taking apart a big, talented Oklahoma Sooners team 94-68 with offensive balance, experience and defensive tenacity, delighting a large Gamecocks crowd that made the trip from Columbia.
In moving to 34-3, the Gamecocks are in the Elite Eight for the sixth consecutive season under Staley and will play TCU at 6 p.m. Monday at Golden 1 for a shot to reach the Final Four in Phoenix. TCU eliminated Virginia in the other Sweet 16 game on Saturday at Golden 1.
Johnson scored 18 points and fellow 5-9 guard teammate Ta’Niya Latson had 28 for South Carolina, which seeks its fifth consecutive Final Four showing.
Despite steaming past their first three NCAA opponents by an average of 45 points and leaving no doubt who the better team was on Saturday, the Gamecocks insist they have not played their best game. The best is yet to come, players and Staley said.
And they will need to up their game, understating that the road to Phoenix won’t be easy. There’s also a standard of excellence to meet as Staley has coached South Carolina to national championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024 and reached the finals last season, falling to Connecticut, which looms as the nation’s top-ranked team this season at 37-0.
“We have a lot of room to grow, and we’re growing at the right time,” Johnson said. “When everyone is clicking, the ceiling is high for us.”
Star guards lead the charge
Johnson and Latson are a prolific and formidable duo, and dominating backcourt play has been a staple for the elite in this sport. Latson competed in her first Sweet 16, having played her previous three collegiate seasons at Florida State before her transfer to South Carolina.
Latson got involved early, scoring 8 of South Carolina’s first 10 points for a 10-0 lead as the Gamecocks led wire to wire.
“I was feeling really good tonight, woke up on the right side of the bed,” Latson said with a smile. “My teammates and coaches believed in me. Go out there with confidence, that was the game plan.”
Johnson averages a modest 10.0 points per game but plays much larger than scoring averages. She’s a leader, a playmaker, a defender and an All-American. She has sacrificed scoring to help the team, and the results prove it was a good move.
“I’m super happy with Raven,” Staley said. “She’s been through a lot, and she’s standing strong today, and she’s performing at a high level.”
Staley mantra
Staley is a renowned recruiter who can speak to the thrills of competing and winning. She was the national high school Player of the Year in Philadelphia who then became a two-tine Naismith College Player of the Year at Virginia in 1991 and ‘92, a three-time All-American as a point guard who powered the Cavaliers to three consecutive Final Four showings. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star, leading to induction into multiple Halls of Fame.
But you can’t drive players into the ground without some fun, she said. Hence, the T-shirt with the likeness of a star payer.
“They’re young people that have a lot on their plate, and they have a lot of people coming at them, wanting things,” the coach said of her players. “For me, they probably call me a little bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because I give each moment its place. If I feel like laughing in the middle of practice, I’m going to crack up, right? But I can turn it off, get back to where we were.
“I want them to be who they are, and that’s not always being serious.”
Oklahoma handed South Carolina its lone regular-season setback in the SEC, 94-82, on Jan. 22. The Gamecocks have won 15 of 16 games since.
Aaliyah Chavez scored 21 points and Payton Verhulst had 12 for Oklahoma, which finished 26-8.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:36 PM.