The championship took place just last Sunday against powerhouse South Carolina Gamecocks and Caitlin Clark’s squad, the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Gamecocks brought the title home; with a score of 87-75, but in the end it was the most suspenseful game played. The Gamecocks tipped it off with playing an entire undefeated season with Dawn Staley as their head coach. The first quarter started with South Carolina tipping off and securing the possession. For the first few minutes it took South Carolina time to be in a synchronized balance with one another. Iowa’s star and the face of basketball at the moment… Caitlin Clark scored a final 3 pointer to secure the first quarter for Iowa. It was the most points ever scored in a NCAA tournament in history.
This was a redemption game for South Carolina after previously losing to Iowa in 23’, in the semifinals. It just wasn’t enough for the win for Iowa , after South Carolina worked beautifully together. Their big Kamilla Cardoso put up 15 points and 17 rebounds. Freshman, Tessa Johnson led with 19 points. Perfect defense from Bree Hall and Raven Johnson, their defense broke up Iowa’s lead at halftime, tying the game. Following… South Carolin just couldn’t be stopped, leading the rest of the game. In the 2nd half South Carolina dominated putting up 38 points, ultimately coming out victorious in the end with a 12 point win over 1owa, 87-75.
The Gamecocks’ undefeated and unselfish win can all be drawn back to Dawn Staley’s work ethic and coaching. “It doesn’t always end like you want it to end — much like last year — but my freshmen are at the top of my heart because they wanted this,” Staley said in a post-game interview with ESPN. She has now won 3 NCAA tournament titles. The environment she puts her team in is what truly gels the whole team together, which undeniably showed off this season.
