Star power intact as field dwindles
Women's basketball is having itself a moment as March Madness rolls on to the Sweet 16.
A year ago, 9.9 million people tuned in to see Angel Reese and LSU beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa in a national championship game made unforgettable by the two stars who backed up their talk with stellar play. The game was on a national network — ABC — for the first time since 1996.
Well, Clark and Reese are back for more and their teams have advanced to the Sweet 16. So has No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, which hasn't lost all season and has a chance to become the 10th perfect national champion.
The Gamecocks and Clark's Hawkeyes are the top seeds in the two Albany (N.Y.) regionals while Pac-12 Conference tournament champ Southern California and Big 12 tourney champ Texas are the two top seeds at the Portland (Ore.) site.
Clark has been the talk of the sport all season, making a bid for a second straight Associated Press Player of the Year honor after becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I history and selling out venues wherever Iowa went.
Top games
2. Stanford vs. 3. North Carolina State, Friday. Stanford is coming off an epic overtime win over Iowa State behind 41 points from Kiki Iriafen. North Carolina State went from unranked in preseason to No. 3 by early December and is now in its fifth Sweet 16 in six tournaments, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2022.
5. Colorado vs. 1. Iowa, Saturday. The Buffaloes opened the season with a stunner when they defeated defending national champion LSU and were among seven Pac-12 teams in the tournament. They are aggressive and will give Clark and her fellow Hawkeyes all they can handle.
3. LSU vs. 2. UCLA, Saturday. The makings of an instant classic? LSU's Reese and Flau'Jae Johnson against UCLA's Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts certainly has the potential.
3. Connecticut vs. 7. Duke, Saturday. Paige Bueckers is playing at an MVP level for UConn, which is making its 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils are the lowest-seeded team left in the tourney, but Kara Lawson's bunch showed a lot of poise in rallying from 16 points down to knock off Ohio State.
Top stars cashing in
The popularity of the women's game is driven in part by players like Clark and Reese. Their name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations are some of the highest in the nation; Clark's is just over $3 million while Reese is at $1.8 million, according to On3.com.
Iowa's star guard has deals with Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Buick to name a few. Reese, who has built her own brand over the past few years, has sponsors including Reebok, Sports Illustrated and more. She has another year of college eligibility if she wants it.
“I have a brand outside of here where the deals are going to follow me if I leave or stay,” Reese said on the eve of LSU's first NCAA Tournament game last week. “I've built that relationship with a lot of these brands. I don't just have brands that are in college. I have brands that are long term deals that are just past college. I think that's the difference.”
Clark has added more endorsements since she announced earlier this month she will skip her final year in college and enter the WNBA draft, where she will be the presumed No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever. Panini and Gainbridge have already signed on with her. The NCAA Division I career scoring leader has stated that her major sponsors will not leave her when she turns pro.
They'd be foolish to. “It's wrong to say that when you go to the W you're taking a step back or not getting exposure or as much exposure,” said Sara Gotfredson, who founded the Trailblazing Group, a Los Angeles marketing firm that specializes in commercial partnerships in women's sports. “There's a lot of appetite for sponsorship and partnerships in the WNBA.”
It's not just the older, established players seeing a financial boon. Southern Cal freshman JuJu Watkins is one of the bright young stars who will carry the game when Clark, Reese and UConn's Paige Bueckers are gone to the pros over the next two years.
“There's legitimate popcorn-worthy type of players,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.