Dawn Staley revealed to what extent she rates South Carolina guard Bree Hall following her March Madness defensive display against Indiana superstar 

Legendary South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley praised Bree Hall following her standout March Madness defensive performance against Indiana on Sunday.

The defending national champions, the Gamecocks, defeated the Hoosiers 64-53 to move onto the Sweet 16, with Hall scoring a team-high 11 points. Hall was also tasked with guarding Hoosiers superstar Yarden Garzon and did a stellar job at thwarting the guard.

Hall’s performance was so good that her head coach declared her as one of the best defensive players she has ever coached. Staley, a women’s basketball Hall of Famer and a three-time NCAA-winning head coach said: “Breeze is an elite defender, like, it’s elite. I mean, the things that she does, the people that she has to guard, it does it. And I told her this. I don’t know if I told you all this.

“Like, in my 25 years of coaching, she’s on my all-time defensive team, like, all time, all the players that I’ve coached because she’s very consistent with it and she relishes the challenge. Like, there are people that don’t want to, they don’t want to guard people’s best offensive player.

“Breezy, you know, I thought Breezy, Breezy had to make adjustments today because she was guarding Garzon like Booker. And there’s a little bit difference in what both of them can do. We probably needed Breezy to loosen up a little bit.

“And then she told me, she said it. She actually finished my sentence. And then the second half, she really adjusted. So, I mean, people are watching. It’s just not the people who will give credit. Like, other people, like fans and people who really understand, you know, what’s happening out there on the floor, give her her flowers, and I’m happy that they do.”

Staley has been the head coach of the Gamecocks for 17 seasons and is eyeing back-to-back championships with her talented roster. The WNBA icon says South Carolina is the place to be if you want to watch the best college women’s basketball. “This is really the place to be when it comes to women’s basketball,” Staley said of South Carolina, per the March Madness YouTube account.

“It’s entertainment, it’s developing and creating friendships, it is unified. I mean, you look into our arena and you can see every seat filled, and it’s of every background, every single ethnic background. We’ve won National Championships, but I would say that we’ve been champions in uniting people. And that is super proud, that’s the thing that I’m most proud of. That’s the thing that has kept me here for 17 years. To walk away from what we’ve built here would be extremely hard, like extremely hard. And I think it’s just unmatched.”

The No. 1 seed Gamecocks will face the winner of the game between No. 5 seed Alabama and No. 4 Maryland on Monday to set up a sizzling Sweet 16 matchup.