CLEVELAND — South Carolina and Iowa.
The program that has become the dominant force in women’s college basketball in the last decade. The program with the player, Caitlin Clark, who has become a force of nature in the sport over her four-year career.
The program, it turns out, topped the player.
South Carolina captured its third national title while becoming the 10th undefeated champion thanks to an 87-75 victory over the Hawkeyes. The Gamecocks finish the season 38-0.
Iowa wanted to replicate what it did a year ago when it beat the undefeated Gamecocks in the Women’s Final Four, only this time while also adding the program’s first national title. On top of that, the Hawkeyes wanted to send Clark, the all-time scoring leader in NCAA college basketball history, out with a title.
Follow along here throughout the afternoon for updates on the championship clash in Cleveland:
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley talks about basketball
South Carolina’s Raven Johnson talks about beating Iowa
South Carolina, Iowa with 2 each on all-tournament team
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and Tessa Johnson were two of the four players who played in Sunday’s title game to make the all-tournament team. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Hannah Stuelke also were voted to the team by selected members of the media covering the event.
Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers also was chose.
South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso named Women’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player
South Carolina senior center Kamilla Cardoso was voted as the Most Outstanding Player of the Women’s Final Four. Cardoso scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the championship game.
Cardoso had 22 points in the semifinal win over North Carolina State on Friday.
Caitlin Clark speaks postgame after her final game at Iowa
South Carolina: 2024 NCAA women’s basketball national champion
South Carolina starting to pull away with two minutes remaining
Kamilla Cardoso’s putback with 2:27 remaining gave South Carolina an 83-75 lead. Then Cardoso came up with a big rebound on Iowa’s next possession that allowed the Gamecocks to milk the clock below the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
South Carolina holding on at the 4th-quarter media timeout
South Carolina’s lead was at 78-72 at the fourth-quarter media timeout with 4:39 remaining. Caitlin Clark’s point total has hit 30 to pace the Hawkeyes, while Tessa Johnson has come off the bench to score 19 points for the Gamecocks.
Iowa shooting its way back into the game
Iowa fell into 76-62 hole on Chloe Kitts’ put-back with 7:40 remaining. The Hawkeyes, though, scored the next eight points to pull within 76-70 with 6:43 remaining on Gabbie Marshall’s 3-point basket.
Chloe Kitts adding to unsung South Carolina stars
Add the name of forward Chloe Kitts to the list of South Carolina’s unsung heroes against Iowa. Kitts recorded a double-double when she turned her 10th rebound into two points — giving her 11 — and a 76-62 Gamecocks lead with 7:40 remaining.
South Carolina takes nine-point lead into final quarter
South Carolina heads into the final 10 minutes of regulation holding onto a 68-59 lead over Iowa in the national championship game. The Gamecocks outscored the Hawkeyes 19-13 in the third quarter.
Caitlin Clark leads all scorers with 25 points for Iowa. Tessa Johnson has scored 15 points off the bench to lead South Carolina.
Tessa Johnson starring as South Carolina’s unsung hero
Tessa Johnson may not have been the South Carolina player with that surname who first came to mind coming into the national title game. However, Johnson’s been huge off the bench for the Gamecocks, including a 3-point basket with 1:06 left in the third to give them a 68-57 lead.
That basket gave Johnson 15 points in the game.
South Carolina opens up first 10-point lead
South Carolina went from down 11 in the first quarter to up 10 in the third quarter. The Gamecocks took a 65-55 lead on Bree Hall’s 3-point basket with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
South Carolina up four at third-quarter media timeout
The South Carolina lead was 57-53 at the third-quarter media timeout with 4:58 on the clock. Caitlin Clark was at 23 points for Iowa, while Te-Hina Paopao and Kamilla Cardoso each had 11 points for South Carolina.
Caitlin Clark ends Iowa scoring drought
Caitlin Clark’s jumper with 7:14 remaining in the third ended the Iowa scoring drought, which stretched back to the 53-second mark of the second quarter. That pulled Iowa within 55-48.
Gabbie Marshall made it 55-51 with a 3-point basket for the Hawkeyes a minute later.
South Carolina pushes lead out to start 3rd quarter
South Carolina didn’t let the halftime break slow down its roll. The Gamecocks scored the first six points of the third quarter to open up a 55-46 lead on Iowa with 7:59 remaining in the quarter.
With the five points to end the first half, the Gamecocks are on an 11-0 run.
Chloe Kitts scored four of those six points to give her nine points to go with seven rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao had the basket to push the lead to nine, giving her 11 points.
South Carolina ends 1st half against Iowa on go-ahead burst
South Carolina spent most of the first half trying to climb out of various deficits against Iowa. However, Te-Hina Paopao’s tying 3-point basket and Raven Johnson’s steal and score in the final 25 seconds pushed the Gamecocks to a 49-46 lead at halftime.
Caitlin Clark had 21 points in the first half for Iowa, including four 3-point baskets. Kate Martin added 11 points for the Hawkeyes.
Kamilla Cardoso was the Gamecocks’ leading scoring with 11 points. South Carolina had a 22-0 advantage in points off the bench.
Caitlin Clark hits her 200th 3-point basket of season
Caitlin Clark’s fourth 3-point basket, which gave Iowa a 44-40 lead with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter, was her 200th 3-point basket of the season. That shot has opened up a 38-shot margin between her and the previous co-record holder in NCAA Division I college basketball, men’s or women’s: Steph Curry, who had 162.
Clark has already matched her point total from Friday’s semifinal, with 21 points with less than a minute left in the half.
Hannah Stuelke gives the lead right back to Iowa
Iowa has been able to answer South Carolina every time it seems to tie or, in this case, take the lead. This time, it was Hawkeye sophomore Hannah Stuelke’s 3-point play wrapped around the 4:12 media timeout in the second quarter, putting Iowa back in front 37-36.
Stuelke would do it again after Chloe Kitts tied the game at 37-37 with a free throw on South Carolina’s next possession. She would get fouled on the rebound of the missed second free throw and hit two free throws of her own to put Iowa up 39-37 with 3:51 remaining in the second quarter.
Kamilla Cardoso gives South Carolina its first lead
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso gave her team its first lead of the game with a layup with 4:56 remaining. That put the Gamecocks in front 36-34.
The basket gave Cardoso, the 6-foot-7 All-American, 11 points for the game.
Tessa Johnson heating up for South Carolina
Tessa Johnson has been central to South Carolina now twice tying the game in the second quarter. Johnson’s 3-point basket with 6:01 left in the quarter tied the game at 34-34.
Johnson had four points in the Gamecocks’ opening 7-0 run to tie it at 27-27. She has seven points in the quarter and nine for the game.
Sydney Affolter gives Iowa the lead right back
South Carolina and Iowa were tied for all of 21 seconds. That’s how long it took the Hawkeyes to re-take the lead at 30-27 on Sydney Affolter’s 3-point basket.
South Carolina ties the game to open 2nd quarter
Iowa was the fast starter in the first quarter. South Carolina responded to open the second.
Kamilla Cardoso’s 3-point play with 8:21 left in the quarter tied the game at 27-27. It was part of a 7-0 Gamecock run to start the quarter.
End 1st quarter: Iowa answers South Carolina’s push
Iowa took a 27-20 lead into the second quarter, ending the quarter on 5-0 burst. Caitlin Clark hit a 3-point basket with 20 seconds remaining to provide the margin.
Clark has three 3-point baskets on her way to 18 points already. She scored just 21 points in the semifinal win over Connecticut.
South Carolina making its push after slow start
After falling behind by the largest deficit its faced all season to open the game, South Carolina began to push back. The Gamecocks put together an 11-2 run to pull within 22-20 with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter on Tessa Johnson’s basket.
‘Ted Lasso’ makes an appearance on the scoreboard
Actor Jason Sudeikis has been a regular at the Iowa women’s basketball team’s tournament games. The star of “Ted Lasso” was shown on the scoreboard during the first-quarter media timeout.
