Despite a phenomenal performance from Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks completed a historic undefeated season with an 87-75 victory over the Iowa women's basketball team in the NCAA title game, marking a thrilling end to a record-breaking women's basketball season.
From the jump, Clark was a spectacle, racking up an unprecedented 18 points in the first 10 minutes—a record for any quarter in a championship game. Her efficiency was stellar: hitting 3 out of 4 from the three-point line and 5 for 6 at the free-throw line. Her last-second deep three-pointer not only exemplified her range but sent Iowa into the second quarter with a seven-point cushion, leading 27-20.
South Carolina hit back hard in the second quarter, orchestrating a 7-0 run that wiped out Iowa’s early advantage. Clark, who had been electric, was cooled down, only adding three more points to her tally. Still, the second quarter saw Clark break another record – this time surpassing the 480-point NCAA Tournament record previously held by Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw.
South Carolina pulls away from Caitlin Clark, Iowa after half
Despite Clark's now 21 points, South Carolina's physicality began to tell as they entered halftime narrowly ahead, 49-46, capitalizing on a 12-4 offensive rebounding edge that turned into 19 second-chance points.
The Gamecocks’ defensive intensity rose, and Clark felt the heat, converting just three of her 13 attempts from the field. South Carolina opened the second half on an 11-0 run, stretching their lead and challenging Iowa to respond. Clark's efforts kept her atop the scoring chart with 25 points, but South Carolina closed the third with a nine-point lead at 68-59.
With five minutes remaining in the final quarter, with the Hawkeyes down in the double-digits, Clark led a brief comeback charge with a crossover 3-pointer, per the NCAA. Gabbie Marshall also scored her second triple of the half, and Kate Martin made a layup to cut South Carolina's lead to 78-72 before the final media timeout.
Unfortunately for the Clark and the Hawkeyes, South Carolina's depth proved too much to overcome, as the Gamecocks pulled away again, extending their lead by 10 again.
Clark added nine more points to her tally in the final quarter, closing her college career with a game-high 30 points and the title of the NCAA's all-time leading scorer with 3,951 career points, via Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. She also finished with eight rebounds, and five attempts, making 10 of 28 field goals, and hitting five out six free throw attempts.
Clark's legacy on women's sports
Caitlin Clark's historic 3,951 career points, numerous surpassed records and inspiring influence on the sport mark her career despite the loss. South Carolina, led by Tessa Johnson’s 19 points and Kamilla Cardoso’s powerful double-double, looks poised for continued dominance.
Before the game, Clark had said that she hopes her legacy will be defined by more than whether or not she wins the championship game, and rather the impact that she had on the sport.
“I've played basketball at this university for four years, and for it to come down to two games and that be whether or not I'm proud of myself and proud of the way I've carried myself and proud of the way I've impacted people in their lives, I don't think that's a fair assessment,” she said, previously. “I don't want my legacy to be, ‘Oh, Caitlin won X amount of games,' or ‘Caitlin scored X amount of points.' I hope it's what I was able to do for the game of women's basketball. I hope it is the young boys and young girls that are inspired to play this sport or dream to do whatever they want to do in their lives. For it to come down to 40 minutes and for me to validate myself within 40 minutes, I don't think that's a fair assessment.”
It's safe to say that her legacy will transcends the records and the wins and losses, and will be defined by the attention and fans she brought to women's basketball.
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