South Carolina won the women’s NCAA Basketball Championship Sunday afternoon with an 87-75 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was an exciting game, especially early on when All-American guard Caitlyn Clark scored a record 18 points in the first quarter.
But it was South Carolina’s superior size that got the Gamecocks back into the game with a 49-46 halftime score and led to a dominant performance in the second half. South Carolina enjoyed a whopping 51-29 advantage on the boards.
South Carolina was also good from the field, hitting 47.9 percent of their shots from two-point range and 42.1 percent from the three-point arch. The Gamecocks took 92 shots while the Hawkeyes took six less shots. Iowa shot 80 percent from the charity stripe while South Carolina shot 52.9 percent.
Freshman guard Tessa Johnson came off the bench to give South Carolina 19 points, the highest scorer on her team. Kamilla Cardoso, a 6-foot, 7-inch senior center, tallied 15 points while Te-Hina Paopao scored 14 points and 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore forward Chloe Kitts added 11 points. The Gamecocks completed a perfect 38-0 season and avenged last year’s loss to Iowa in the semifinals. South Carolina was unbeaten at the time of that loss. Just think, South Carolina has won 109 of their last 112 games. That’s an outstanding winning percentage.
Iowa tried to make a game of it in the second half, getting back to within 5 points at 80-75 with 4:12 remaining. However, it was obvious that Clark and her teammates were pressing offensively. Clark missed a 3-point attempt from downtown Cleveland that struck the back iron and bounced high for an easy South Carolina rebound. The game was essentially over then as the Gamecocks scored the last seven points for the victory. It was a great win for South Carolina and their second title in three years.
Iowa has nothing to be ashamed of. They played hard but were outplayed on the backboards against a team that was better. Clark had a 30-point game. In the process her hot first quarter scoring broke the NCAA record of 480 points scored in the tournament previously held by Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw. Kate Martin, a 6-foot senior guard, added 16 points for Iowa. Sydney Affolter, a 5-foot 11-inch junior guard, scored 12 points and 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke added 11 points.
In the end, women’s basketball has been a winner all season. Clark has been the center of it all with her overall outstanding play. Those who have watched the game have watched primarily because of her play and the records she achieved.
She was an exciting player during the regular season, and as much or more during the NCAA tournament. South Carolina Coach and former pro player Dawn Staley said this about Clark after the game: “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport and it’s not going to stop here on the collegiate tour. When she’s the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well. So, Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game and we appreciate you.”
Yes, it was a fun weekend of basketball, for those who love the sport. However, it was not a fun time for NC State as their nine-game winning streak ended with Perdue, 63-54. The Boilermakers won behind the scoring and rebounding of 7-foot, 4-inch center Zach Edey. He scored 20 points and ripped down a game-leading 12 rebounds.
For State, 6-foot, 10-inch center Ben Middlebrooks grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Wolfpack but scored only 2 points. Middlebrooks did a credible defensive job on Edey. D.J. Horne led NC State with 20 points while Jayden Taylor added 11 points, the only two State players in double figures. Unfortunately, D.J. Burns Jr. had to sit at the six-minute mark of the first half because of two fouls but never seemed to get into any kind of offensive rhythm. He scored 8 points.
Michael McConnell, a 6-foot, 2-inch senior guard, scored only 3 points but played only 12 minutes because of what seemed to be an injury. McConnell was an important cog in the Wolfpack offensive game. It was his miraculous shot against Virginia in the ACC Tournament that sent that game to overtime, and an eventual win that started the Wolfpack on its Cinderella march to the Final Four.
In my view, NCSU had a horrible shooting game, and that alone caused them to lose that glass slipper, sending them back to Raleigh. By holding Perdue to 63 points, the Wolfpack held their opponents 20 points below their 83.4-point per game average. Had the invisible lid not been over the basket for the Pack, the score could have been completely different.
Someone must lose in sports. Sometimes the best teams lose in upsets. Sometimes mediocre teams come together at the right time and earn their right to win and advance. Some teams win ugly, some win in games that resemble ballet. That’s why watching sports — and basketball in particular — is exciting. Those who lose at this level have nothing to be ashamed of. The winners, of course, deserve the celebration.
Most Popular
Comments / 0