Top-ranked South Carolina defeats Iowa in Clark’s final game
LEVELAND
The goal of redemption led to perfection for South Carolina’s women’s basketball team.
Confetti fell on the Gamecocks after freshman Tessa Johnson scored a career-high 19 points to power South Carolina to an 87-75 victory over fellow No. 1 seed Iowa in the national championship game on Sunday in soldout Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
It is a triumph that avenges the loss the Gamecocks suffered to the
Hawkeyes in last season’s national semifinals. That game was the last time South Carolina endured a defeat, having capped off this season 38-0. It makes the Gamecocks the first undefeated champions in women’s college basketball since UConn’s 2015-16 team.
South Carolina is the 10th team to complete an unbeaten season and the fifth program to do so, joining the Huskies, Baylor, Tennessee and Texas.
It is the third national title for South Carolina under coach Dawn Staley.
Johnson — who did not start — shot 7-of-11 from the floor and also had four rebounds. South Carolina also got two double-doubles from frontcourt players: Kamilla Cardoso’s 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds, and Chloe Kitts’ 11 points and 10 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao provided 14 points for the Gamecocks.
Cardoso was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Iowa (34-5) is still a program without a title after falling in the championship bout for the second season in a row. The result marks the end of the career of Hawkeyes’ superstar guard Caitlin Clark —the all-time leading scorer for all of Division I college basketball — who finished her final game in an Iowa uniform with 30 points on 10-of-28 shooting along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Kate Martin added 16 points for Iowa, Sydney Affolter scored 12, while Hannah Stuelke chipped in 11.