Thursday’s matchup between LSU and South Carolina will be a reflection of how far women’s college basketball has come.
The game will contain two coaches that are arguably the faces of the sport: Kim Mulkey for LSU, and Dawn Staley for South Carolina.
There are very few coaches in women’s college basketball that are as decorated as Mulkey and Staley. However, they haven’t received accolades just as coaches, but as players as well.
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Mulkey was an All-American point guard at Louisiana Tech, where she won two national championships. She was also a member of the USA National Team in the Olympics during her time in college.
Staley attended the University of Virginia, where she made the Final Four three times, and made it to the national championship in 1991, where she was named Most Outstanding Player.
She finished her career as the only player in ACC history to record more than 2,000 points, 700 rebounds, 700 assists, and 400 steals. Staley is one of three players at Virginia to have her jersey retired.
With Mulkey and Staley’s dominance in women’s college basketball as players, it was only right they’d stay around the game and become coaches. But for both coaches, they made their way around the college scene.
Mulkey’s time at Baylor didn’t begin until 2000, as she had an assistant and associate head coaching role at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Staley’s career started out at Temple University in Philadelphia, her hometown.
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At Baylor, Mulkey built a 21-year era where she three won national championships, advanced to four Final Fours, won 11 Big 12 championships, and took her team to the NCAA Tournament every season in her time at Baylor except for the 2002-03 season, and the 2019-20 season, due to COVID-19.
At Temple, Staley took the Owls to the postseason seven of her eight seasons, including six NCAA Tournament appearances. She also won an Atlantic-10 Tournament championship in 2006.
In 2008, Staley took her coaching career to South Carolina, and it took that move for Mulkey and Staley to eventually face. But that time didn’t come until 10 years later.
In that time, Staley also built a dynasty at South Carolina, and is still building it. In her 15 full seasons in Columbia, she advanced to the NCAA Tournament for 12 straight years, won seven SEC championships, advanced to five Final Fours and won two national championships.
On Dec. 2, 2018, Baylor and South Carolina squared off for the first time in either program’s history in Columbia, South Carolina, where Baylor came away easily with a 94-69 win.
They then met later that season in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Baylor won once again in similar fashion, this time by a score of 93-68, and eventually went onto win a national championship.
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However, the Bears and the Gamecocks met once again. But this time around, South Carolina came away with a 74-59 win. South Carolina went onto win the SEC Tournament, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
When Mulkey made the move to LSU in 2021, she and Staley were set to see each other more often both being in the SEC. LSU and South Carolina met in Mulkey’s first season at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and South Carolina came away with a close, 66-60 win.
They didn’t meet again until the next season, this time in Columbia. Both teams came into the game undefeated. It was a matchup between the top-ranked Gamecocks, and the No. 3 ranked Tigers, but South Carolina came away with an 88-64 win.
This was the most recent meeting between Mulkey and Staley, and obviously much has happened since.
Staley’s Gamecocks remained perfect through the rest of the regular season, and won an SEC championship shortly after. But after cruising through the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks suffered their only blemish to their season in the Final Four, falling short to Iowa, 77-73.
Mulkey’s Tigers suffered their second loss of the season in the SEC Tournament to Tennessee by just two points. They remained tested in the NCAA Tournament, coming away with a three-point win in the Sweet 16 against Utah, and a low scoring victory over Miami in the Elite Eight.
In contrast to South Carolina, however, LSU passed through the Final Four with a late comeback victory over Virginia Tech. The Tigers then advanced to the National Championship against Iowa, and played arguably some of the best basketball they played all season in a 102-85 win.
This national championship marked the first title in LSU basketball history, both men’s or women’s, and Mulkey’s fourth national championship in her coaching career.
With two dominant coaches like Mulkey and Staley, a rivalry is bound to develop, or some might think.
Before last season’s meetings, Staley commented after LSU and South Carolina’s matchup on LSU’s quick success under Mulkey. She connected the increase of fans and support to former LSU head coach, Nikki Fargas.
Fargas went onto become the president of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, opening the LSU head coaching job up for Mulkey to eventually take.
Staley, who is a friend of Fargas’, said in the postgame press conference that “if she [Fargas] got the support that Kim is getting, the energy in this building it’s gonna raise the level of play…if Nikki got a chance to do that, maybe she’d still be sitting here.”
Many considered these comments Staley taking a jab at Mulkey, potentially creating a rivalry between the two. But Mulkey was quick to shut these rumors down, saying, “I thought she defended her friend, the former coach Nikki, and it just became underlying tones there…I have absolutely zero conflict with Dawn Staley…what I have for her is respect.”
The relationship between Mulkey and Staley is competitive, but respectful. The two are arguably two of the most accomplished women’s college basketball coaches in the country. With that commonality comes a level of respect. Their commonality as accomplished players also comes with a level of respect.
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Thursday’s matchup is the product of similar journeys, hard work, and at times, some adversity. Their journeys as coaches have come with increased recognition, but never as much as there should be.
This time around, ESPN’s College Gameday will have their show before the game with a full-female panel, with tickets as high as $750 to attend.
Never before has women’s college basketball been on the pedestal it’s now on, and Thursday’s matchup with national recognition, high-profile names, and talented athletes are the product of Mulkey and Staley’s efforts.
