Close the book on Caitlin Clark’s career, and what a great read it was
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark attracted huge crowds, put up huge numbers and lifted the Hawkeyes higher than anyone could have imagined.
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Kate Martin interview
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Caitlin Clark leaves Iowa her way, battling with her head hung high
Iowa won’t see the likes of Caitlin Clark again, but oh, how it has had someone to take pride in these last four years.
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The Gamecocks proved their No. 1 ranking and completed a perfect season, pulling away late from No. 2 Iowa, 87-75, in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament final Sunday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
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Lisa Bluder postgame press conference
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Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin postgame press conference
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Caitlin Clark postgame interview
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Jan Jensen postgame interview
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Gabbie Marshall postgame interview
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Caitlin Clark evaluates Iowa's loss
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Final: South Carolina 87, Iowa 75
South Carolina (38-0) completes a perfect season with its third national championship.
Kamilla Cardoso had 15 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Tessa Johnson scored 19 points, leading a 38-0 advantage in bench points for the gamecocks.
Iowa (34-5) falls in the national title game for the second year in a row despite a game-high 30 points from Caitlin Clark in her final college game.
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South Carolina 87, Iowa 75 (0:53.5)
Iowa has gone cold from the field and South Carolina is closing in on its third championship.
Timeout Iowa.
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South Carolina 83, Iowa 75 (2:04 4th)
Kamilla Cardoso making plays at both ends. She blocked Addison O'Grady's floater, then scored on a putback to push the lead to eight.
Cardoso has 15 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
GAMECOCKS CAN TASTE THE TITLE 🔥#NationalChampionship x 🎥 ABC / @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/dfDBlg6lgS
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 7, 2024 -
South Carolina 80, Iowa 75 (4:13 4th)
Gabbie Marshall prevented a backcourt violation with a hustle play, saving the ball to Sydney Affolter, who drove for a three-point play to cut the lead to five.
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South Carolina 78, Iowa 72 (4:39 4th)
The Hawkeyes have a chance but they'll have to hit the glass. South Carolina has 17 offensive rebounds to Iowa's 21 defensive rebounds and 28 defensive rebounds to Iowa's seven offensive rebounds.
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South Carolina 76, Iowa 70 (6:30 4th)
Caitlin Clark dribbles into a 3 on a crossover, then Gabbie Marshall buries a second-chance 3. Iowa is not done yet.
GABBI333. @GabbieMarshall x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/PEg9cdSifP
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 7, 2024 -
South Carolina 74, Iowa 61 (8:02 4th)
Kamilla Cardoso is up to 13 points and 12 rebounds after her latest putback, giving the Gamecocks their largest lead.
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Hawkeyes go cold in the 3rd
Iowa in the first half: 15-for-33 (45.5%)
Since halftime: 4-for-15 (26.7%)
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End 3rd: South Carolina 68, Iowa 59
Sydney Affolter ended a 4-minute field-goal drought for the Hawkeyes. After a South Carolina 3-second violation, but Iowa couldn't take advantage on its final possession.
Tessa Johnson has 15 points off the bench for the Gamecocks.
Caitlin Clark has 25 points, but only four in what was a 13-point third quarter for the Hawkeyes.
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South Carolina 68, Iowa 57 (1:06 3rd)
Tessa Johnson hits another 3 for the Gamecocks. They're 8-for-16 from deep.
Timeout Iowa.
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South Carolina 65, Iowa 55 (2:28 3rd)
Iowa got within two, but Ashlyn Watkins scored on a putback, Hannah Stuelke missed an open layup and Tessa Johnson drilled a 3 in a key sequence that put the Gamecocks back up seven. Then Bree Hall hit another 3 to make it a 10-point lead.
BIG. SHOT. BREEZY!! 😤
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 @ABCNetwork pic.twitter.com/J93I0zieiw -
Nice, but not surprising, bounce-back from Iowa after falling behind by 9.
Hannah Stuelke has matched Kamilla Cardoso's scoring so far, with 11 points.
The Gamecocks' average margin of victory in the tournament is 26.8 points.
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South Carolina 57, Iowa 53 (4:58 3rd)
Iowa is hanging in there. Gabbie Marshall hit a corner 3 and Caitlin Clark found a cutting Hannah Stuelke in transition.
TV timeout.
The Spark 💥@GabbieMarshall x #Hawkeyes
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/Ei9juQ7SLN -
South Carolina 55, Iowa 46 (7:59 3rd)
It's a 6-0 run to start the half for South Carolina, including back-to-back Chloe Kitts buckets, and an 11-0 run overall.
Timeout Iowa.
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South Carolina 51, Iowa 46 (9:10 3rd)
Chloe Kitts scores inside off the glass to get the second-half scoring started.
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Half: South Carolina 49, Iowa 46
So, that first half was awesome.
The Gamecocks have their largest lead of the game at the break.
Te-Hina Paopao's third 3 of the game gave South Carolina the lead, then Raven Johnson swiped the ball from Caitlin Clark and scored before the buzzer.
Clark has 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, five rebounds and two assists. Kate Martin has 11 points.
Kamilla Cardoso leads South Carolina with 11 points and seven boards.
THAT'S HOW YOU FINISH OUT THE HALF GAMECOCKS‼️
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 @ABCNetwork pic.twitter.com/Eo4oHxXsoB -
Iowa 44, South Carolina 44 (1:20 2nd)
Four straight for South Carolina to tie it, including a steal and Chloe Kitts layup.
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Iowa 44, South Carolina 40 (1:50 2nd)
Te-Hina Paopao's 3 brought South Carolina back within one, then Caitlin Clark hit a 3 off the dribble seconds later. She has 21 points.
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Iowa 36, South Carolina 36 (4:11 2nd)
South Carolina took its first lead, but Hannah Stuelke can get it back by converting a three-point play after the TV timeout. South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins has two fouls.
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Iowa 34, South Carolina 34 (5:55 3rd)
Tessa Johnson ties it up on a 3 off an inbounds pass. The freshman has 9 points off the bench.
Everybody say YEAHHHH T3SSA!!
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 @ABCNetwork pic.twitter.com/xPpqHCvB6h -
Iowa 30, South Carolina 27 (8:04 2nd)
Sydney Affolter restores Iowa's lead with a second-chance 3 on an asisst from Caitlin Clark after Raven Johnson blocked Clark's shot at the rim.
No. 3️⃣ for3️⃣@sydneyaffolter1 x #Hawkeyes
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/tEFzAUpbmn -
Iowa 27, South Carolina 27 (8:21 2nd)
The Gamecocks score the first seven points of the second quarter, including a Kamilla Cardoso three-point play to tie it. Cardoso denied what looked like an open Addison O'Grady layup the play before.
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End 1st: Iowa 27, South Carolina 20
The Gamecocks got within two, but Caitlin Clark scored the last five points of the quarter.
Her 18 points are the most ever in a championship game quarter, according to the ESPN broadcast.
Let it fly 🔥@CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 7, 2024
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/6lPGArHOtA -
Iowa 22, South Carolina 18 (2:05 1st)
Freshman Milaysia Fulwiley has given the Gamecocks a spark off the bench. Her 3 cuts the lead to four.
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Iowa 22, South Carolina 15 (2:45 1st)
Hannah Stuelke picks up her first foul trying to rebound against Kamilla Cardoso, but blocks her shot on the next possession and it goes out of bounds off Cardoso.
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Iowa 22, South Carolina 13 (3:46 1st)
South Carolina scores four straight out of the TV timeout, including a second-chance basket, then Kate Martin draws a foul on a jumper and hits both free throws.
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That was a nice first five minutes for Iowa.
If you like scoring 20 points and leading by 11, that is.
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Iowa 20, South Carolina 9 (5:25 1st)
Caitlin Clark is fouled on a 3 for the second time already. This time she makes two free throws and has scored Iowa's last 13 points.
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Iowa 18, South Carolina 7 (6:15 1st)
The Gamecocks start to get going on offense and Caitlin Clark responds with a logo 3. She already has 11 points.
Rangeeeee 🎯@CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/V7kMi4O7Ll
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 7, 2024 -
Iowa 13, South Carolina 2 (7:04 1st)
Kamilla Cardoso finally got the Gamecocks on the board with a putback after six consecutive Gamecock misses. Caitlin Clark then was fouled on a 3 and made all three free throws.
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Iowa 10, South Carolina 0 (7:22 1st)
What a start for the Hawkeyes. Sydney Affolter with a transition layup. Caitlin Clark with a 3. South Carolina has missed all five shots.
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Iowa 5, South Carolina 0 (8:19 1st)
Kate Martin hits a jumper. South Carolina has missed its first four shots.
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Iowa 3, South Carolina 0 (9:35 1st)
South Carolina wins the tip, Iowa forces a miss inside and Kate Martin drills a 3 in transition.
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South Carolina starters
0 Te-Hina Paopao
23 Bree Hall
25 Raven Johnson
21 Chloe Kitts
10 Kamilla Cardoso
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Iowa starters
3 Sydney Affolter
20 Kate Martin
22 Caitlin Clark
24 Gabbie Marshall
45 Hannah Stuelke
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Iowa fans made the trip
This is a pro-Iowa crowd, without a bit of exaggeration.
South Carolina's average home attendance was 16,067, so it isn't like it lacks gung-ho fans.
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Caitlin Clark got a lot of love on Saturday Night Live last night
SNL’s opening sketch compared the men’s NCAA basketball tournament to the women’s, and let’s just say Caitlin Clark and the women fared far better.
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A year after Caitlin Clark’s viral wave-off, South Carolina’s Raven Johnson seeks validation
Unlike last year, the Gamecocks have a potent perimeter game to go with their wealth of posts.
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You may be nervous about Sunday's game. The Hawkeyes? Not so much.
Iowa has the biggest of its challenges this season in a national-championship clash with 37-0 South Carolina. It could be a mismatch. Or it could be one last blast of Hawkeye magic.
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Game preview: The end has arrived
Led by, maybe, the greatest player of all time, Iowa will try to slay Goliath for the second straight year. The second-ranked Hawkeyes (34-4) face No. 1 South Carolina (37-0) for the national championship Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
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Iowa vs. South Carolina game notes
• Iowa has reached the championship game for the second straight season. The Hawkeyes fell to LSU in the final last year, 102-85. Iowa shocked South Carolina, 77-73, in last year’s semifinals. That marks the Gamecocks’ lone loss in the last 80 games.
• The Hawkeyes rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to beat No. 10 Connecticut, 71-69, Friday. South Carolina handled No. 11 North Carolina State, 78-59, outscoring the Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter.
• Sunday marks the final game for five Iowa seniors — Caitlin Clark (3,921 career points), Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Sharon Goodman and Molly Davis (out, knee injury). Clark and Martin have started 139 games, Marshall 137.
• Kamilla Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 senior post, leads South Carolina at 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
• Iowa leads the nation in scoring (91.4 ppg) and assists (21.0 per game), while Clark is tops in scoring (31.7 ppg) and assists (9.0 per game).
• South Carolina is a 6 1/2-point favorite. The Gamecocks were NCAA champions in 2017 and 2022.