Dawn Staley Criticizes Officiating After Texas Upsets South Carolina 66-62

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley expressed significant frustration with officiating during a closely contested game against the Texas Longhorns, which ended in a 66-62 loss for her team. Staley criticized the referees for making too many calls that disrupted the flow of the game, emphasizing that fans came to see the players, not the officials. The Gamecocks faced a total of nine fouls in the first quarter alone, leading to a challenging matchup against the ranked Longhorns. Despite tying the game at 49-49 going into the fourth quarter, South Carolina could not secure the win, marking their first SEC regular-season loss in nearly three years. Staley's comments aimed to rally her team ahead of their next game against the Florida Gators, as they work to regroup after this disappointing defeat. The loss also highlighted an unusual scoring performance, as only one Gamecock managed to score in double digits against Texas.