Kamilla Cardoso had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and South Carolina completed its perfect season with an 87-75 victory over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA championship game.
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 national semifinals.
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 rewrote the record book at Iowa (34-5), finishing as the career leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,951 points.
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.
Clark said, “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.”
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said, “I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport. 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.”
** South Carolina has 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 at least three national championships, joining Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt, Kim Mulkey and Tara VanDerveer.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley after her win over Iowa in the NCAA Championship: “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport.”
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