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The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Why Raven Johnson faces her biggest challenge in leading South Carolina to fourth title

COLUMBIA —  Seven. Seven. Seven. That’s how Raven Johnson taps in.Breathe in seven times. For each breath, hold it for seven seconds. Let it out for seven. The serenity helps amplify her grit. Still and unmovable in order to be relentless and unconquerable.Her pre-game breath work centers her as she prepares to lead South Carolina women's basketball at a steady but rapid pace. The fifth-year point guard is tasked with preserving the history of coach Dawn Staley's program, trying to become the se...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

How South Carolina punter Mason Love uses music, muscle and a one-word tattoo to pursue perfection

COLUMBIA — Shane Beamer noticed Mason Love is always wearing headphones.If it's game day for South Carolina football, the punter is listening to Etta James or Louis Armstrong to start then transitions to more fast-paced music closer to kickoff.“He’s not antisocial, he’s a great young man, but it's like he has tunnel vision,” Beamer said. “For him to be a young guy, he’s very much a pro.”Beamer arrived in December 2020, and Kai Kroeger was his constant at punter. A coach with deep special teams r...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Dawn Staley's home is with South Carolina women's basketball but she's forever Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Dawn Staley doesn't want to move back to Philadelphia. For one thing, it's cold in the winter.

Staley, who has lived in Columbia since she started coaching South Carolina women's basketball in 2008, told her childhood best friend Dexter Matthews, she isn't coming back.

Philadelphia wants a WNBA team but when Staley returned home May 23 to promote her book "Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother and Life Lessons I learned from All Three," she shut down any hope she'd...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Why Dawn Staley is unlikely to call timeout in Final Four. South Carolina players love her for it

TAMPA, Fla. — Cinder block walls, two twin beds, a closet and desks, posters plastered for decorations. A small fridge, a VCR and a TV were the perks.Tuttle-Dunnington House, located in the center of a cluster of dorms on Virginia's campus, was where 18-year old Dawn Staley felt safe.Staley had no desire to be the center of attention.Charlottesville wasn't home, and it wasn't Philadelphia. When the 5-foot-6 point guard arrived on campus to play college basketball in 1988, introversion swallowed...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Here's who South Carolina coach Dawn Staley relies on for balance if her message runs hot or cold

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. − Friday night's Sweet 16 game might have been a challenge for defending champion South Carolina women's basketball but it wasn't for assistant coach Khadijah Sessions.An intense environment, two teams battling for a spot in the Elite Eight and a game that had constant lead changes.As a South Carolina player and star guard for Dawn Staley from 2012-16, she's experienced all aspects of a March Madness. So as the No. 1 seed Gamecocks (33-3) beat No. 4 Maryland 71-67, Sessions knew...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Meet the 3-year-old South Carolina basketball fan with Dawn Staley, players' names braided into her hair

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. − The small stature comes with a large aura.Tay Harris weaved through the friends and family section for South Carolina women's basketball, and people noticed. Bouncing between high-fives, the 3-year-old girl greeted everyone, even Grammy Award winning rapper Plies.Last week, as March Madness kicked off for the No. 1 seed Gamecocks, Tay's hair made headlines.She arrived for the opener against Tennessee Tech with all the players and coach Dawn Staley's names braided into her hair...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

How South Carolina's Sania Feagin emerged as the leader Dawn Staley needed after three inconsistent seasons

Sherri Feagin's feet were covered with confetti. She looked to her right at her daughter Sania and as she began to speak, a single teardrop fell.A few more followed. Glassy-eyed with a prideful smile.Feagin wiped the tears. She was donning a fresh "SEC tournament champion" hat and shirt, standing on the court in Bon Secours Wellness Arena after South Carolina women's basketball beat Texas for the program's ninth tournament title.Their arms intertwined, one on each back. A 6-foot-3 daughter with...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

Why South Carolina's Shane Beamer says he is such an emotional football coach, tears and all

COLUMBIA — Shane Beamer's voice trembled.He was in South Carolina's locker room after the thrilling 17-14 victory at Clemson on Nov. 30."For that to be," was all he could say before South Carolina defensive back O'Donnell Fortune walked over to give him shoulder pads to cry on. Beamer latched onto the hug, as his players yelled, "Let it out, Coach!" in a video posted by the team.The tears Beamer wiped away weren't the first ones shed by the coach at a South Carolina football game.A year before,...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

South Carolina football's Torricelli Simpkins heeds mom's advice, has backup plan in marine biology

This story was updated to add new informationCOLUMBIA — Torricelli Simpkins III faced a challenge.Simpkins was in fifth grade and with his family at the waterpark. He couldn't swim in the deep end of the wave pool. So, his grandmother's boyfriend gave him a swimming lesson.His feet kicked, his head dunked and his career path began to form.Simpkins, now a 6-foot-5, 319-pound offensive lineman, transferred to South Carolina football from North Carolina Central University in January and has immedia...
The Greenville News/USA TODAY Network •

What South Carolina sees in quarterback LaNorris Sellers that his hometown of Florence already knew

When LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina football's new starting quarterback, was a toddler, his grandmother used to say, "That baby's been here before."

He was mature even from a young age, according to his father Norris Sellers.

Preparing his son to play football, the words of his mother continued to echo.

“That baby’s been here before.”

Sellers grew up known as the most athletic kid. That separated him from other young football prospects.

"Everyone always looked up to him, even guys older o...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

Parenthood: UMass style

Back home in Amherst, Mass., Kya felt a contraction. Two of them, 15 minutes apart — “ok wait this is real life,” she thought.

Pregnancy teas and repeated movements on an exercise ball stopped. Kya knew one thing; she wasn’t having this baby yet so the next option was self-induced bed rest.

Noah Fernandes was on the road with the Massachusetts men’s basketball team. UMass prepped for Fordham, an Atlantic 10 matchup that brings nothing short of pure competition between the two schools. Noah, wh...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

Quinn: The foundation and formation of UMass’ most passionate fan

The 6-foot-7-inch freshman scanned the Mullins Center crowd. Towels twirling, maroon and white jerseys scattered seats, popcorn crumbs pounded by students’ feet. Everyone was in sync, pumping their fists in the same motion, chanting the same songs. Yet one, spotted from any inch of a packed Mullins, was out of sync with the rest.

Quinn McCarron stood in his freshly thrifted reindeer costume. The hood hid his shaggy brown hair, the red nose bounced as he cheered, the felt antlers hanging on by a...
Sports Illustrated •

The Trouble With the Pill

Starting back in high school in 2015, Annie Uyeki was always anxious when she had to leave a class. “I wondered, What does my teacher think?” she says. Anywhere from two to three times in an 82-minute class period, Uyeki had to step out. Her body demanded it. Now a lacrosse player at Vassar College, Uyeki was used to infrequent occurrences of excruciating pain that came with irregular and unbearable periods. She started taking birth control pills to help regulate them—she just wanted to feel com...
Sports Illustrated •

Chazz Woodson Is Molding the Next Generation of Black Lacrosse Players

To elementary school students at Ransom Everglades School in Miami, he was Mr. Woodson. To the lacrosse community, he was Chazz: former high school All-American, two time Major League Lacrosse All-Star and frequent feature on SportsCenter’s top 10 list.To the current roster of the Hampton University Pirates men’s lacrosse team, he is Coach Woodson, sometimes Coach Chazz. To everyone, he is the head coach of the only active Division I men’s lacrosse team at an HBCU. But Chazz is so much more than...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

Grow as you go: Angelique Ngalakulondi’s journey at UMass

The sun often shines through the clear windows and off the grey exterior of the John Francis Kennedy Champions Center. The Massachusetts women’s basketball team stumbles in on a crisp December afternoon. Routine set already, ordinary every day rituals begin to occur.

Up the stairs, past the weight room and above the practice court sits head coach Tory Verdi’s office. In preparation for UMass’ game against Boston College, routine was necessary. The Minutewomen run a systematic program. Routines...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

A Collegian alumna’s journey of unfolding the relationship between sports and female empowerment

At one point in her life, Kathleen Ralls feared her true passion would delay her progress.
“I sometimes wondered, ‘Would my interest in slant towards female sports be a negative for me as I tried to advance in the [Massachusetts Daily] Collegian?’”
But since the start of her journalism career, her appreciation for women’s athletics has been a driving force in her work. Now editing her first book for publication, Ralls has epitomized her passion for writing about women in sports as she prepares t...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

How Sarah Crowley found her footing on and off the field

Underneath the bed in her New York home, a notebook collects dust — not so much because of negligence, but instead because the ink that lies on the pages of the paper taught lessons that made Sarah Crowley who she is.Now, she keeps the notebook around and honors her growth by living the life that those ink filled pages told her she could.
An average Friday night for Crowley in high school was spent in the basement of a Long Island home, talking about boys, sports or various other teenager topics...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

The anatomy of a player: The formation of Hannah Bunker’s inner battles

It was very dirty, broken, and was near the end of its life. The holes were more apparent than anything else but worn-down material still held significance. Hannah Bunker just couldn’t let go.

It was not so much a matter of physical attachment, but rather a mental fixation. With a sport like softball, one that requires mental toughness to an extreme, unusual habits will form. And for some, those habits will remain longer than others.

Bunker grew up in Waterford, Michigan, around 650 miles away...
Massachusetts Daily Collegian •

Share your snacks, the Destiney Philoxy way

The Massachusetts women’s basketball team prepares for a game on the road. Long bus rides with masks, social distancing between seats and hand sanitizer in a coat pocket.

A mask is slowly brought down, food enters the picture. A hand reaches out to grab something from a teammate. From an outside perspective, its pre-game fuel, but for any member of the Minutewomen, snacks from Destiney Philoxy mean a whole lot more.

“I grew up sharing,” Philoxy said. “When I was a kid, I shared everything. I h...