COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and her national champion Gamecocks got a standing ovation from lawmakers as they were honored at the Statehouse on Tuesday.
The women's basketball team defeated Mississippi State earlier this month for its first national championship. Wearing her "netlace" - the net on the basketball goal during the championship game - around her neck, Staley addressed the session and told lawmakers she was proud of how her program was built without shortcuts or underhanded moves. She was grateful for the support of everyone in South Carolina during the Gamecocks run to the top.
She also thanked lawmakers for putting their differences aside and removing the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds in 2015 following the killing of nine Charleston people at a Bible study session. Staley said legislators brought down the flag for the "right reasons."
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Associated Press
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