South Carolina completes an undefeated season
The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Iowa for the 2024 National Championship title. South Carolina completes their undefeated season with a 38-0 record, but more importantly, a National Championship. Coach Dawn Staley cements herself as one of the greatest college coaches in history after becoming the first Black coach - male or female to win three national championships. Coach Staley joins Geno Auriemma, Pat Summit, Tara VanDerveer, and Kim Mulkey as the fifth women's coach to win three national championships. Not to bad for the Philadelphia native, who had an illustrious WNBA career before her collegiate coaching tenure. What made this run special is that South Carolina never had a single starter return from last year's team, yet key player stepped into emerging roles. The Freshman standouts Tessa Johnson and Milaysia Fulwiley embraced the big stage throughout the NCAA tournament. The added leadership of Kamila Cardoso and Raven Johnson paid dividends for the Gamecocks this season.
South Carolina Outlasted the firepower of Caitlin Clark
In Sunday's matchup, South Carolina gave up a 10-0 lead in the first quarter while Caitin Clark erupted for 18 of her 30 points in the Q. The Gamecocks made a defensive adjustment, putting Raven Johnson on Caitlin Clark. It's safe to say Raven Johnson took that matchup personally after being waived off by Clark from behind the arc in last year's final-four matchup. With Johnson as the primary defender, Caitlin Clark scored just 12 points in three quarters.
Caitlin Clark and Iowa have the three top audience for women’s basketball (Iowa-LSU, Iowa-UConn, Iowa-SC).
The Gamecocks had nine players in double-digit minutes while their bench outscored Iowa 37-0. Freshman Tessa Johnson was not afraid of the big stage, scoring a team-high 19 points in 25 minutes. South Carolina owned the glass, out-rebounding Iowa 51-29, including 18 offensive rebounds. Kamilia Cardoso dominated the paint despite early foul trouble she put up 15 points and 17 rebounds. Cardoso earned the Most Outstanding Player honours of the final four and will live out her dreams as a lottery pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft next week.
The South Carolina Gamecocks officially completes its “Revenge Tour” in stellar fashion. The bigger picture here is the Women’s College hoops arrived on a national stage, and both teams delivered a unique showdown for the ages. In the end, the Gamecocks’ depth, 3-point shooting, and defensive prowess winning through. South Carolina’s victory over Iowa draw an audience of 18.7 million on ESPN and ABC. Caitlin Clark and Iowa have the top three audiences for women’s basketball. The new media-rights contact will stretch over eight-years worth $920 million, that includes 40 NCAA Championships, across men’s (excluding basketball) and women’s, in a package that values the women’s basketball tournament at $65 million annually.
