A group of Philadelphia girls gathered Sunday to watch Dawn Staley coach in the NCAA title game after studying her journey.

The three-time national championship winning coach recently weighed in on the narrative surrounding UConn's Paige Bueckers in the larger context of women's college basketball.

There’s room to do both. We can raise Paige (Bueckers) up because she deserves that and raise our players up because they deserve that.”

Dawn Staley, head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, will be facing off against Geno Auriemma, head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies, in the NCAA title game. And while both coaches have impressive stats and are paid well for their talent, Staley comes out ahead in her salary total for 2025.

On March 14, it was announced that South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball star MiLaysia Fulwiley was one of four finalists for the NCAA's Dawn Staley Award

Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma each have strong ties to Philadelphia. With a win each in the Final Four, they'll go head-to-head in the NCAA women's championship.

After the South Carolina Gamecocks ' big win against the Texas Longhorns on April 4, head coach Dawn Staley gave her honest opinion about head football coach Shane Beamer. He — and other members of the Gamecocks community — have been extremely supportive of the women's basketball team, she shared.