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Imago

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Imago

A women’s basketball game will be shortly played in the City of Lights for the first time ever when No. 6 South Carolina and No. 10 Notre Dame meet. “I think it’s pretty darn cool to be trendsetters,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. The game’s unprecedented spread in stadiums and on television over the previous year has culminated in its worldwide premiere.

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According to NCAA data, four programs—South Carolina, Iowa, Iowa State, and UConn—finished the season with an average attendance of more than 10,000. Last season, the Gamecocks were the only team to accomplish that mark. With special circumstances on the calendar, Coach Prime shared his love for Dawn Staley for taking her team overseas.

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Coach Prime showers love on Dawn Staley

Deion Sanders aka Coach Prime took time out of his busy Sunday to drop a message for one of his friends as she prepared for a historic overseas game. South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley got a video message from Coach Prime as the Lady Gamecocks faced Notre Dame in France.

The “Oui-Play” game on Monday at Halle Georges Arena is unprecedented for women’s college basketball. Sanders and Staley are both sponsored by Aflac, which is also the title sponsor of the tournament. “Coach Staley, I love you. I appreciate you and what you bring to those young ladies,” Sanders said in a video posted on his official Twitter account. “What you’ve accomplished in life, in victory and in defeat—how classy, how strong—the bravado, the compassion, the love that you give off—it’s infectious.”

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Dawn Staley reposted his video on her Twitter account as she wrote, “Back at you! And yeah, I know you are coming! I appreciate and love you and the impact you’re making. Stay prayed up!”

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Read More:Days Before Making Women’s Basketball History, Hall of Famer Dawn Staley Taunts NBA, “Why Couldn’t We Do It?”

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The friendly banter between these two legendary coaches pumped up the excitement for the upcoming Paris matchup.

Oui-Oui, NCAA first in Paris

Following the NCAA Tournament, ESPN reported that March Madness attracted the highest number of viewers since 2009.

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Notably, a record 9.9 million people watched the Iowa vs. LSU championship game. Additionally, the regular season attracted the most views since 2014-15.

Watch This Story: Ahead of Archrival Caitlin Clark and $110,000,000 Worth Out-of-Favor NBA Star, Angel Reese Rules High Among the Biggest College Stars

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When the South Carolina and Notre Dame teams got to France, their itineraries were crammed with youth clinics and visits to the Louvre to view paintings like Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” The match between the two extremely talented and successful teams is now the main focus.

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Written by

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Nima Murugan

405 Articles

“Basketball isn’t an act of jumping jacks, it’s a sport mirroring life through assists and rebounds”. Before becoming an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, I was drawn to the world of basketball when 'The Chosen One' first started locking horns with 'His Airness' over the GOAT debate. Some discourses shape your imagination and rightly so. This court debate inspired me to write some stirring sports stories. My Masters in English Literature only helped my cause. And now when women basketball players are coming of age, I root for LeBron James’ “sis” A’ja Wilson and a college sensation, Angel Reese. But the sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu specially pierces my heart with her sensational strikes. But when I’m not in the game zone, I quietly retire to my corner with a speculative fiction in hand. This is when I channelize my inner Harry Potter to create some fantasies and possibilities.

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Bilal Handoo

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