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• "We belong," said Staley, in her fifth year at South Carolina. "It helps to know that our body of work puts in in a position to grow."
• It wasn't always like that for Staley, who wrote an op-ed piece for the The New York Times after her first season here in 2009, swearing the Gamecocks wouldn't be on the sidelines when NCAA selections came out a year later.
• Staley was a couple of years off; the Gamecocks returned to the tournament in 2012. This year is their first consecutive appearances in the tournament since 2002 and 2003, and the coach and players were determined not to take a step back this season.
• South Carolina began the season 10-0, matching the best start in program history. The Gamecocks won a school record 11 games in the Southeastern Conference. And they did it with Staley's trademark, in-your-face defensive pressure. They've given up just 49.5 points a game, the country's fourth-best scoring defense. Senior guard Ieasia Walker was voted the SEC's defensive player of the year.
• Several hundred fans, including University President Harris Pastides and first-year men's coach Frank Martin, turned out at the Colonial Life Arena to see where the Gamecocks would be playing and who they would face. The crowd screamed when South Carolina's name appeared on the several TV screens in the lounge area.
• Staley thanked the fans for supporting her growing program.
• "Last year, it wasn't as packed as it is this year and that's a tribute to what these players have done," Staley said.
• Not that it will be easy to keep things going.
• Should South Carolina get past the Summit League champions in South Dakota State, the Gamecocks will face either site host Colorado or Kansas in their attempt to reach the round of 16 for the second straight year.
• The regional also features top-seeded Notre Dame, No. 2 seed Duke and SEC tournament champion Texas A&M, which has defeated the Gamecocks twice this season.
• Those are worries for another day, Staley said. Monday's at-large bid was for her players, who she said have sacrificed and put in the time to improve.
• "We're seeded as high as high as we've been seeded," she said. "I think it goes to show that hard work pays off for our particular program. Not only do the people around here at South Carolina see it, but also the people on the NCAA selection committee."
• Walker said she was more nervous at this year's bracket gathering to find out where the Gamecocks were headed and prepare to move further than they did a year ago when they fell at top-seeded Stanford.

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