South Carolina, Staley honored with downtown parade

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Thousands of fans filled the streets of downtown Columbia for a celebration of South Carolina’s second women’s basketball national championship on Wednesday. The Gamecocks closed out a wire-to-wire season at No. 1 with a 64-49 over UConn in the national title game in Minneapolis on April 3. Officials awaited coach Dawn Staley and the players at the Statehouse to honor the champions. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) invited them to the White House to be received by President Biden in the next few weeks. Staley thanked her supports and told them, “Let’s run it back,” for another title.