As with most seasons, the LOVE theme has many meanings, all of which are rooted in loving the game of women’s basketball. Staley often notes that “if you love the game, it will love you back” – and her career as a player and now a coach is evidence of that.

For her team, loving basketball is more than loving the wins and the trophies and the cheers from fans. That’s just one side of the relationship. The pursuit of those means also loving the commitment and the sacrifice and the discipline required to get better every day, and it even means loving the doubt and criticism of others.

For the FAMS – the program’s loyal fanbase – loving basketball means investing their time and money, it means saving their vacation days to come to games, and it means pouring their energy into the program’s success. In return, Gamecock FAMS are part of a community that puts aside all other differences to share their love of the game and of being such an integral part of Staley’s program.

Under Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball has shared a new public theme each season since 2012-13, when it began with Sacrifice. Each year’s theme is grounded in something that speaks to the team’s aspirations or to what is happening in the world around them. Following Sacrifice, the themes have been: Be the Change (2013-14), one. (2014-15), The Show (2015-16), 100 (2016-17), We Are (2017-18), Own It (2018-19), Woman Up (2019-20), What Matters (2020-21), Net Worth (2021-22) and DNA (2022-23).

For more information on 2023-24 women’s basketball season tickets, which start at $55, visit https://thegamecockclub.com/wbb/. To put a deposit on season tickets, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/gamecocks/wb24dep. To purchase a ticket to donate to underrepresented communities in the Columbia area, visit https://fevo.me/wb24communitysupporter.

Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina Women’s Basketball.