With the benefit of a few months away, some perspective and a bit of rest, Dawn Staley can now say that last season was quite sweet for her Gamecocks.

“Now that I’ve been through it? Now that we’re on the other side?” Staley asks, grinning. “I thought it was great.”

This was the most successful South Carolina team she had ever coached. She’d led other championship squads, of course, but never one like this: It cruised to an undefeated record en route to the title. Only two games all year were decided by fewer than five points. But this group had been a profound test for the 54-year-old. None of its achievements felt guaranteed. This was a young, fun-loving bunch that entered the year with little starting experience, earning the nickname “Dawn’s Day Care.” The team was constantly talking, always messing around, totally different from the serious group that had just graduated. Most had previously been role players. They required Staley to adjust her style in ways she hadn’t since her earliest days as a coach. When they opened the season with a win over ranked Notre Dame—“I thought it was an anomaly,” Staley says—it was in fact the first step in a historic run.

Now the Gamecocks must figure out how to follow that up. They return every roster member from last year save one. (Though it’s worth noting that one departure was big in every sense of the word: 6' 7" center Kamilla Cardoso was the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft.) They will be bolstered by a strong recruiting class, headlined by local product Joyce Edwards, one of the most highly rated prospects in the country. It’s no surprise that they’re naturally heavy favorites to win another title.