South Carolina beats Iowa: The undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks continued their winning streak to take home their third national championship title. Iowa fell short in star Caitlin Clark’s final college game.
South Carolina beats Iowa 87-75 to win its third NCAA Women’s Championship.
Gamecox’s Tessa Johnson had 19 points and Camila Cardoso had 15 as the team dashed Iowa’s hopes of winning its first championship title (South Carolina beats Iowa).
It was the final game of the college career of Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, who broke the Division I scoring record for both women and men and who is headed to the WNBA draft. He had 30 points.
After the win, South Carolina coach Don Staley was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears.
“I’m incredibly happy for our players,” Staley said. “It doesn’t always end the way you want it to end, much like last year.”
IW knocked South Carolina out of the tournament last year, beating them in the Final Four. But South Carolina hasn’t lost a game since.
South Carolina beats Iowa: “I’m very proud of where I work, I’m very proud of our fans – it’s great. It’s awesome. It’s incredible,” Staley said.
With the win, South Carolina had the 10th perfect season in Division I women’s basketball history.
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for improving our basketball game,” Staley said. “He carries a heavy load for our game. And that’s right — it won’t stop there on the collegiate tour, but when she’s the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s going to move up that league as well.”
“So, Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there: You’re a GOAT in our game, and we appreciate you,” Staley said, using the acronym for “Greatest of All Time.”
It all comes down to this.
Tomorrow night, the UConn Huskies will face the Purdue Boilermakers in the Men’s NCAA Tournament Championship Game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, closing the curtain on this year’s March Madness tournament.
“I’ll miss you,” she captioned the post, along with a bunch of yellow heart emojis.
Clarke is headed to the WNBA after playing four years for the Hawkeyes.
Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick preview the men’s national championships on AIT Sports’ Bet the Edge Monday at 6 a.m. ET here or wherever you get your podcast.
This marked the conclusion of Clark’s college basketball career with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Next up for NCAA all-time scorer: WNBA draft (South Carolina beats Iowa).
It’s no secret that Clark is a heavy favorite to go as the first overall pick during the April 15 draft.
The Indiana Fever won the first overall pick for the 2024 WNBA draft (South Carolina beats Iowa), so it looks like Clark will be staying in the Midwest and donning the navy blue, red and gold on the court in the upcoming season.
According to the WNBA, this is the second year in a row that the Fever has taken the top spot. Last year, they selected Aaliyah Boston, who was later named the 2023 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Here’s a look at some of the other top prospects picked early in the draft later this month:
South Carolina beats Iowa:
Cameron Brink (Stanford)
Rickia Jackson (Tennessee)
Camila Cardoso (South Carolina)
Aliyah Edwards (Yukon)
Jesse Sheldon (Ohio State)
Alyssa Pilley (Utah)
Diasha Mela (Syracuse)
Charisma Osborne (UCLA)
Nika Muhl (Yukon)
Elizabeth Keatley (Virginia Tech)
Jazz Shelley (Nebraska)
Savannah Wheeler (Middle Tennessee State)
South Carolina center Camila Cardoso was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after her dominant 15-point, 17-rebound performance in today’s title game. That box score-filling streak on the biggest stage came after two other double-doubles in earlier parts of the tournament. (South Carolina beats Iowa)
Cardoso proved to be too much for Iowa to handle throughout the game, and the Hokies are probably not alone in that feeling, as Cardoso finished the tournament averaging a double-double: 16.6 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game while shooting 64% from the field.
“Camila Cardoso will not let us lose a game in the NCAA Tournament,” South Carolina coach Don Staley said in her postgame comments, also reflecting on Cardoso’s strong WNBA potential.
Cardoso finished his career at South Carolina winning two national titles and was named the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year. She projects as a top-five pick in this year’s WNBA draft, along with title game fighter Caitlin Clark.
“All I have to say is the revenge tour is over,” South Carolina’s Raven Johnson said in postgame comments after his team’s NCAA title and undefeated season.
“I really want to say that I want to congratulate Iowa on an incredible season, great, great,” South Carolina coach Don Staley said after his team’s win and undefeated season.
She thanked Clarke for bringing such attention to the women’s game.
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for moving our sport forward. And that’s right — it doesn’t stop there on the collegiate tour, but when she’s the number one pick in the WNBA draft, she’s moving that league up as well.
“Caitlin Clark if you’re out there: you’re a GOAT in our game, and we appreciate you.”
Te-Hina Paupao, one of the standouts in South Carolina’s championship game victory, spoke to ESPN after the game, highlighting the GameCox’s impressive undefeated run in the face of all-new starters and high expectations heading into the season.
Paopao finished with 14 points today, the third-leading scorer for the Gamecocks, and he hit the final two free throws to really put the game away with just over a minute left.
After his Gamecocks triumphed, South Carolina coach Don Staley was crying so hard to get the words out to express his excitement for his undefeated team.
Staley said he was “unbelievably happy for our players” and “it doesn’t always end the way you want it to end,” referring to last year’s tournament, when Iowa knocked off South Carolina in the Final Four.
“We hope we can erase the pain they had last year,” Staley said of the win.
He called the win “fantastic” and “unbelievable” and said he was “extremely proud” of his team’s work and fans.
“You have to let young people be themselves. You have to guide them and navigate them through this world.
“They etched their name in the history books,” Staley said of his team. “The group least likely to do this.”