South Carolina Wins NCAA Women’s Championship, Denying Final Glory To Caitlin Clark

It was perfection topped with sweet revenge for the South Carolina Gamecocks, who capped a perfect season by beating Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, 87-75.

Iowa raced out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter but a deep and relentless South Carolina fought back. It used its depth to outscore the Iowa bench by 36-0, a remarkable edge.

South Carolina is the 10th undefeated team to win the Women’s Championship, finishing 38-0. They won their third national title in seven tournaments and second in three seasons. South Carolina tied Baylor and Stanford for the third-most championships all-time.

South Carolina lost in the semifinals last year, but went right back to work even after losing five players to the WNBA. They had been aiming for this moment since the first day of practice with a group even its head coach Dawn Staley called “unlikely.”

Clark, the all-time NCAA Division I scorer, had 30 in her final collegiate game. She had a record 18 points in the first quarter, but went just 5 of 20 after that. She still earned a shout-out from Staley, who thanked her for elevating the attention surrounding women’s college basketball.

Center Kamilla Cardoso of South Carolina had 15 points and 17 rebounds, dominating inside. She won the Most Outstanding Player award for her efforts.