South Carolina beat Iowa to cap perfect season with NCAA Tournament title
Dawn Staley and South Carolina completed their perfect season, ending Caitlin Clark’s historic college career with an 87-75 win over Iowa in the NCAA championship game on Sunday.
“It doesn’t always end like you want it to end, much like last year. But my freshies are at the top of my heart because they wanted this. It’s awesome ... It’s awesome. It’s awesome. It’s unbelievable,” Staley said. “When young people lock in and have a belief, and have a trust, and their parents have that same trust, this is what can happen. They made history. They etched their names in the history books.”
With Staley directing a relentless attack – and a smothering defense – from the sideline, the Gamecocks (38-0) became the 10th Division I team to go through a season without a loss. And they accomplished the feat after they lost all five starters from last season’s team that lost to Clark’s squad in the 2023 national semi-finals.
South Carolina have won three titles in the last eight years, including two of the past three, to lay claim to being the latest dynasty in women’s basketball. Staley became the fifth coach to win three national championships, joining Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt, Kim Mulkey and Tara VanDerveer.The Gamecocks, who have won 109 of their last 112 games, became the first team since UConn in 2016 to go undefeated. South Carolina had a couple scares throughout the season, but always found a way to win. With most of the team returning next year except for star center Kamilla Cardoso, Staley’s team is in a good position to keep this run going. Tessa Johnson led South Carolina with 19 points. The 6ft 7in Cardoso was excellent throughout the game and finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds.
“Kamilla Cardoso was not going to let us lose a game in the NCAA Tournament,” Staley said. “She played through an injury, she played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft, and her teammates did something that no teammates have done for somebody who went to the WNBA in our program. They send her off as a national champion. So this is history for us.”
Clark did all she could to lead the Hawkeyes to their first championship.
She scored 30 points, including a championship-record 18 in the first quarter. She will go down as one of the greatest players in NCAA history. She rewrote the record book at Iowa (34-5), finishing as the career leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,951 career points.
“I think the biggest thing is it’s really hard to win these things, I think I know that better than most people by now, to be so close twice really hurts,” Clark said.She hopes her legacy isn’t defined by falling short in two NCAA championship games, but more by the millions of new fans she helped bring into the game and the countless young girls and boys that she inspired. As the final buzzer sounded, a stoic Clark walked off the court, through the confetti, and into the tunnel heading to the locker room. Her next appearance will be at the upcoming WNBA draft, where she will almost certainly be the No 1 overall pick for the Indiana Fever.
“I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport,” 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.”