As the South Carolina women's basketball team was dominated by UCLA in the national championship game on Sunday, 79-51, head coach Dawn Staley would get real on the disappointing result. While the South Carolina women's basketball team had been surrounded by the heated exchange between Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, the main focus for the program was the national title game, but they fell short.

Staley has won three national titles with the Gamecocks, looking to add another one, but head coach Cori Close and the formidable Bruins had other plans. Staley would admit the team got “smacked” by UCLA, and now the goal is to bounce back after a humbling experience.

“So obviously we got smacked today. We got to figure out how we smack back and put ourselves in a position where we're hoisting the trophy at the end of the day,” Staley said, via ESPN.

Staley would give immense credit to UCLA, saying how “they were the better team today.”

“Sometimes you’re part of women’s basketball history. It’s not favorable to you. You could see if you’re going to lose to a team, like UCLA, you want to lose to a team that just really outworks you, out-executes you, made it very difficult for you to perform at a high level. It was a direct reflection of what they did to us,” Staley said, via On3 Sports.

As Staley mentioned, there's no denying that the South Carolina women's basketball team will look to be back at the grandest stage.