“This is kind of what our players came to South Carolina for.” The #Gamecocks feel right at home in the ‘Final Four’ (AUDIO)

A season ago, the USC women’s basketball team was 36-0 and preparing to face Iowa at the “Final Four” in Dallas. The Gamecocks came up short in the semifinals, falling to the Hawkeyes 77-73. A loss that shook head coach Dawn Staley to the core.

“Last year rocked me. It rocked me,” Staley said recently. “It rocked me because we had a team full of players who did all the right things.”

Fast forward twelve months, and once again, the Gamecocks are 36-0 and preparing for the “Final Four,” this time in Cleveland, Ohio. Carolina will take on NC State Friday night at 7 p.m., with the winner facing either Iowa or UConn on Sunday afternoon for the title.

Staley, along with guards Bree Hall and Te-Hina Paopao, met with the media on Thursday to preview this weekend’s action in the “Forest City,” and with just a few words, Staley made her intentions perfectly clear.

“You want to win; you can see the finish line. I want to win.”

Dawn Staley, Bree Hall, and Te-Hina Paopao — Final Four Press Conference