South Carolina Secures 2024 NCAA Championship, Surpassing Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in a Historic Women’s Basketball Season
A year after their perfect season crashed with a semifinal loss to the sensational Clark in the Final Four, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 to win the NCAA women’s basketball championship in Cleveland on Sunday.
The Gamecocks’ win gave them a perfect 38-0 for their 2023-24 season. This is South Carolina’s third national title. Staley became the fifth coach to win at least three national championships, joining Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt, Kim Mulkey, and Tara VanDerveer.
There was a ton of hype ahead of the women’s NCAA tournament, and it lived up to it with the action that has taken place the last few weeks. Sunday wrapped up a historical season for women’s college basketball, and the women’s NCAA basketball tournament has been full of girl and star power, like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, LSU’s Angel Reese, USC’s JuJu Watkins, with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark front and center. The birth of not one but three WNBA stars, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, head off to next week’s WNBA draft.
“I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “She’s going to lift that league (WNBA) up as well. Caitlin Clark if you’re out there you’re one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.”
Caitlin Clark has been a singular force in growing the women’s game in ways no college player has.
Clark’s ability to sell tickets both at home and away, is unparalleled. Never before has a player attracted such a significant audience to women’s college basketball. Her impact has illuminated the sport in a manner never before in history. A record 9.9 million viewers tuned in to watch LSU’s win over Iowa in the 2023 national championship game. And on Monday, Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight averaged 12.3 million viewers, the most watched women’s college basketball game in history and one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year. On Friday, Iowa’s semifinal win over Connecticut was the most-watched basketball game in ESPN history, including men and women, averaging 14.2 million viewers (and peaking at 17 million).
Seven television networks and streaming platforms recorded their highest-rated women’s college games ever when Iowa played on their air station in the regular season.
Caitlin Clark has captivated the broader sports fan. The casual sports fan. Even the non-sports fan.
What does this mean for women’s basketball? Will people follow Caitlin Clark to the WNBA, or will that star power remain at the college level? Women’s college basketball has never been more popular, and it may ignite changes in women’s basketball. Finally equalizing the playing field, as always wished, Clark, Reese, and Cardoso just might be what women’s basketball needs to compare with men’s sports. Only time will tell.
The WNBA Draft begins on Monday, Apr. 15, and it is officially set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
