Women's BIG10 Basketball

Though Caitlin Clark was unable to close out her college career with a championship, the Iowa star leaves behind no regrets as she closes out her collegiate journey.

"Whether it's the way the fans have supported me, the way I've been able to represent my state where I grew up, my family being at every single game -- there's not a regret in my mind of how things went," Clark said, per ESPN's Michael Voepel. "I'll be able to sleep every night even though I never won a national championship.

"I don't sit and sulk about the things that never happened. My mom always taught me, 'Keep your head high, be proud of everything that you've accomplished.' And, you know, I think I'm so hungry for a lot more, too."

Clark had an incredible career, becoming college basketball's all-time leading scorer, winning countless awards and leading her team to back-to-back national championship appearances. While she might not be a champion, she is certainly one of college basketball's most outstanding players.

Clark had a tremendous tournament run, averaging 30 points, 8.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds across six games. In Sunday's 87-75 loss, she put up 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Hawkeyes came up short.

After Clark's college basketball career came on Sunday, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley praised her for all she's done for the game.

Now Clark will prepare to begin her professional journey, where she will look to leave just as big of a mark. The Indiana Fever hold the No. 1 pick in this year's WNBA Draft, and Clark will undoubtedly be selected with that pick.

If she finds as much success at the next level as she did in college, Clark will likely be on her way to earning GOAT status once again.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark wasn't hanging her head following her team's 87-75 defeat to South Carolina in the 2024 national championship.

She already took a longer view of her college career, telling reporters she achieved her goal of reaching the Final Four.

"Looking back now, I think I would just be proud of the way I worked for this moment and earned it," she said. "Nothing was ever given. I was in the gym all the time. I matured a lot mentally and physically. People believed in me, people pushed me, people held me accountable. And those are the things that I'm thankful for and that's why I'm here right now."

Clark said this season "was probably more special than last year," adding she's "proud of myself" and "proud of my teammates."

Clark later said goodbye to Iowa in a couple of social media posts:

Clark laid out why she and her teammates have nothing to be ashamed of from Sunday.

South Carolina was simply the better team. The Gamecocks didn't go 37-0 coming into Sunday by a fluke. They maintained a perfect record through one of the toughest schedules in the country before March Madness got underway.

In Raven Johnson, Dawn Staley had a perimeter defender to keep Clark in check, and 6'7" center Kamilla Cardoso exploited the weakness the Hawkeyes have had inside after Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock graduated. South Carolina had a 51-29 edge in rebounding and a plus-16 advantage in points in the paint.

Winning a national title would've been the crowning achievement in a legendary career for Clark. Falling short doesn't erase what she and Iowa accomplished over the last two seasons, and the full weight of her legacy won't be known for some time.

After a controversial offensive foul on UConn's Aaliyah Edwards helped Iowa seal a trip to the national championship Friday night, Hawkeyes guard Gabbie Marshall, who drew the foul, said she has received hate comments following the game.

"I've gotten a lot of hate comments," Marshall said, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "I don't know. I'm not the one that made the call. So I'm not sure why they're mad at me personally."

Marshall said she had to go as far as deleting social media as the comments came in. She also spoke candidly about how conversations about the foul have taken away from her and her teammates' performances.

"I've deleted social media," Marshall said. "I feel like it just kind of overlooked the fact that I played my butt off the whole game trying to guard her, trying to get over screens the whole game and feel like that one play just consumed everything. That's all anyone's talking about. They're not talking about the fact that it was a great game between two great teams."

Marshall had an outstanding game in the 71-69 win. She had five points and five rebounds, but her biggest contribution was her defense against UConn star Paige Bueckers, who Marshall held to her lowest scoring total of the tournament.

The offensive foul Marshall drew in the final seconds of the game will certainly be a point of conversation, but Iowa is now hoping the attention will shift to an exciting matchup between the Hawkeyes and South Carolina on Sunday.

An exciting Final Four matchup between No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 UConn now holds the record for the most-watched basketball game ever on ESPN.

Per ESPN PR, Friday's game between the Hawkeyes and Huskies was the most watched NCAA women's basketball game ever with 14.2 million viewers on ESPN and peaking at 17 million viewers. It was also the highest audience for any basketball game on record at ESPN and the most-watched college event ever on ESPN+.

ESPN also noted that it was the network's second-best non-football telecast ever.

Friday's viewership numbers were better than every 2023 World Series game, every 2023 NBA Finals game and several other major sporting events.

The record-setting broadcast comes after Iowa's Elite Eight matchup with No. 3 LSU shattered the record for the most-watched women's college basketball game with 12.3 million viewers.

It's no surprise to see Friday's matchup draw historic viewership. It had everything a college basketball fan would want in a game, from star power with Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers to a dramatic finish.

The two teams traded runs late in the game, with the Huskies leading by a big margin in the third quarter before trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. UConn crawled back into the game to make things interesting down the stretch and came within one point with just seconds remaining.

A costly, controversial offensive foul on UConn's Aaliyah Edwards eliminated the Huskies' attempt at a game-winning shot, and Iowa secured a rebound after Clark missed a free throw at the other end to seal the game.

Now, Iowa will face No. 1 South Carolina in the championship game on Sunday. The undefeated Gamecocks are looking to win their second championship in three years while Clark is aiming to end her career with a victory.

With another exciting matchup on deck, seeing more historic viewership numbers won't be a surprise.

After Dawn Staley claimed the women's college basketball GOAT needed to have a championship to their name, Iowa star Caitlin Clark shared her opinion on the matter.

Per ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Clark said earning that status doesn't come down to how many games you won, but rather the legacy that you left behind.

"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," Clark said.

"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."

Clark's comments came after Staley chimed in on the debate. The South Carolina head coach, who had an outstanding career at Virginia, said she believes a title is needed to earn GOAT status.

"I was really good in college, never won a championship," Staley said. "You've got to win a championship. That's me personally. I had a great career. But it's always, did you win a championship?"

Clark has made a strong case to be considered the GOAT, leading the NCAA in career points with 3,921, winning multiple Player of the Year awards and notching dozens more accolades across her career.

However, the one thing she is missing is a national title. She led the Hawkeyes to the championship game last year, but fell short against LSU. Now, she'll have another chance to claim a title as Iowa faces South Carolina on Sunday.

Clark and Iowa have a big challenge at hand against the undefeated Gamecocks. South Carolina cruised to a win in the Final Four and has plenty of momentum heading into the championship game.

But Clark is looking to close out her career on a positive note, and Staley's comments about needing a championship to become the GOAT could serve as motivation.

Sunday's national championship game will tip off at 3 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship game is set. No. 1 South Carolina will face No. 1 Iowa after a pair of exciting Final Four matchups on Friday night.

The Gamecocks took down No. 3 NC State 78-59 to advance to the national championship game. The Wolfpack kept things close through the first half, but as it has done plenty of times this season, South Carolina used a huge run to pull away and win comfortably. The Gamecocks came out of the locker room on fire, outscoring NC State 29-6 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Star center Kamilla Cardoso led the way for South Carolina with 22 and 11 rebounds. The senior has had an outstanding postseason showing and is looking to close out her career on a positive note.

Now the Gamecocks will look for their second national championship in the last three seasons and their third in program history.

They will have to get through a tough Iowa team first.

The Hawkeyes' 71-69 win over No. 3 UConn was much less comfortable than South Carolina's win. The Huskies did a tremendous job containing Caitlin Clark for most of the game and held her to single-digit scoring through the first half.

Clark found some life in the second half and ultimately propelled her team to the win behind 21 points. Her co-star Hannah Stuelke also had a big performance with 23 points on an efficient 9-of-12 from the field.

Now, Iowa will play in the national championship game for a second year in a row, and it will be looking for different results this time around.

No matter who South Carolina would have been matched up with, it would have been the Gamecocks' game to lose. South Carolina has been dominant all year and hasn't let up in the tournament, winning each of its games by double digits aside from the Sweet 16 matchup with No. 4 Indiana.

The Gamecocks are a defensive powerhouse, allowing just 56 points per game, which ranks second among Power 6 schools. But as most champions, they possess a strong offense as well, scoring 85.6 points per game, which trails just Iowa and LSU.

South Carolina doesn't necessarily have a player that can take over the game the way Clark does, but the Gamecocks rely on the committee and stout defense to win games, and it works.

For Iowa, its X-factor is clearly Clark, who has been the best player in the country this year and is hungry for a championship to close out her tremendous career. Clark's scoring has been undeniable throughout the tournament, but UConn showed that she can at least be contained on Friday.

The Huskies often looked to double teams and face-guarding Clark 30 feet from the basket, which limited her to her lowest point total of the postseason. If South Carolina can replicate that defense it could walk away with a championship.

But luckily for Iowa, Clark is a gifted passer as well. If her teammates can get open when the Gamecocks inevitably bring the double team on Clark, she likely will find them.

Friday's Final Four matchup was promising for Iowa. Stuelke's ability to step up with Clark having a slow start paid dividends, and the Hawkeyes will need some assistance from her again in the national championship.

The Hawkeyes have the best offense in the country by a long shot, scoring 91.9 points per game. Their defense is a different story, though, giving up 71.5 points per game. It's unlikely Iowa will be able to fully contain South Carolina's offense, but it will need to play its best defense of the season while hitting shots at the other end to hand the Gamecocks their first loss of the year.

Ultimately, Sunday's contest should be one of the most exciting games of the year. Clark is looking to put the cherry on top of her legendary career, while South Carolina is looking to continue its new tradition of hanging national championship banners. It's the final women's basketball game of the season, and fans are in for a show.

Sunday's game will tip-off at 3 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The matchup will be broadcast on ABC.

Swimming legend Michael Phelps was thrilled to discover he's the cellphone wallpaper for Iowa star Caitlin Clark.

Clark showed off her screensaver in a video posted by the NCAA's Women's March Madness account. Phelps replied that he's "Honored!!!"

It's not hard to see why Clark would draw inspiration from the 23-time Olympic gold medalist. He's not just the most dominant swimmer of all time but one of the most decorated athletes ever, period.

Phelps' competitiveness is the stuff of legend as well. It was clearly evident when he had his mind on the pool and his thoughts were on nothing else but vanquishing his foes.

It probably won't be long before Clark is gracing the cellphones of numerous younger athletes in the same way Phelps is a source of motivation for her.

Trae Young had some jokes after a pair of photos from Monday's Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and LSU detailed the Tigers' struggles to contain Caitlin Clark.

Young called LSU guard Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese's reactions to Clark "the reverse MJ meme," alluding to NBA legend Michael Jordan's iconic shrug.

Both reactions were captured after Clark drilled threes in No. 1 Iowa's 94-87 win over No. 3 LSU Monday night. The shrugs were fitting reactions to how a player might feel when trying to contain Clark, who seemingly hits whatever shot she takes.

On Monday, she finished the night with 41 points and 12 assists, hitting nine threes in the game. She is averaging 32.3 points and 10 assists in the NCAA tournament, propelling the Hawkeyes to a second-straight Final Four.

Clark has had an iconic career, setting countless records and becoming the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball history, but she still has one accomplishment to check off: Winning a national championship.

The Hawkeyes took care of LSU, which beat it in last year's national championship, and now they'll look to advance through the Final Four next week. Iowa will face the winner of No. 1 USC and No. 3 UConn, which matchup on Monday night.

If Clark can continue frustrating defenses as she did on Monday, Iowa could be on its way to its first championship in program history.

Damian Lillard had thoughts on the officiating in Iowa's win over West Virginia in the NCAA women's tournament Monday night.

"I feel like West Virginia women's team getting did bad by these refs," Lillard posted on X.

Lillard, like many other college basketball fans, thought the game might have had some one-sided officiating as No. 1 Iowa defeated No. 8 West Virginia 64-54 in the Round of 32.

The box score certainly shows some disparity in the foul calls, as West Virginia was called for 27 personal fouls while Iowa committed just 11 on the night. The Hawkeyes shot 30 free throws, making 25 of them, while the Mountaineers attempted just five the entire game, making three.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark was the biggest beneficiary of the foul calls, getting 11 of her 32 points in the game from the line. She missed just one free throw on the night.

Whether the officiating was one-sided or West Virginia was just more aggressive is up for interpretation, but either way, Iowa is moving on to the Sweet 16 and West Virginia's season is over.

The Hawkeyes will now face No. 5 Colorado in the Sweet 16 in Albany, New York, after the Buffaloes handled No. 4 Kansas State in the Round of 32.

Colorado has a big task at hand going up against Clark and Iowa, and the Buffaloes will be hoping for a friendly whistle.

Iowa encountered little trouble against No. 16 Holy Cross to open the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament as the No. 1 seed rolled to a 91-65 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday.

Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark struggled to find her shot early into the contest but finished with 27 points and went 8-of-19 from the field. She added eight rebounds and 10 assists for her 22nd double-double of the season.

Senior guard Kate Martin also posted a double-double (15 points and 14 rebounds) while senior guard Gabbie Marshall and junior forward Addison O'Grady scored in double figures.

When it came to Clark, fans couldn't help but notice both her performance and her single-minded determination despite the outcome pretty much being sealed by halftime.

In general, the win over the Crusaders provided little evidence one way or the other regarding Iowa's quest for a national title. The Big Ten champions shot 46.3 percent from the field, out-rebounded Holy Cross 50-37 and had a 40-20 edge in terms of paint scoring.

The Hawkeyes did exactly what you would've expected against a clearly overmatched opponent.

They will play either West Virginia or Princeton in the second round, which will be the last time Clark plays in Iowa City. As if that doesn't provide enough motivation, the reigning national player of the year might have a chip on her shoulder should the Mountaineers advance.

Whether it's WVU or Princeton awaiting the team, the second round should be a slightly better litmus test for Iowa's title credentials.