The women’s college basketball season has been one of this year’s most exciting sports events. This year’s March Madness tournament garnered some of the most attention women’s basketball has ever seen, bringing them into a new stage of popularity. Viewership topped out during the championship game at 14.2 million viewers, topping last year’s NBA championship and all World Series games. The tournament was filled with incredible games and exciting moments that gave women’s basketball millions of fans and a bright future.
March Madness kicked off with many great games that led to a talented elite eight bracket between the best teams in the country.
It all started with undefeated South Carolina, coached by Dawn Staley, dominating Oregon State in a 70/58 game in which the Gamecocks outscored the Beavers in every quarter. Next, Texas faced off against NC State in a hard-fought battle that ended in an upset. Number four Texas lost to number 12 NC State, led by Azaiha James who dropped 27 points.
The next game in the Elite Eight was one of the most anticipated games of the tournament, pitting Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies and Juju Watkins and the USC Trojans against each other. These star players battled it out with Bueckers dropping 28 points and Watkins with 29. In the end, the Huskies proved to be too much for the Trojans and they moved on to the Final Four.
The last game of the Elite Eight was the most anticipated game of the tournament. The game had a viewership of 12.3 million viewers and broke the record for the most-watched women’s basketball game. The game was headlined by the two biggest names in women’s basketball, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. It was a rematch of last year’s championship game in which LSU defeated Iowa. Though this game had a different outcome from the previous one, Iowa stunned the reigning champions led by a 41-point game from Clark and a tournament-record 9 threes in a game.
Moving on to the Final Four, undefeated South Carolina faced off against NC State which just upset the number 4 ranked team in the country. While NC State had a good run they were dismantled by the Gamecocks in a 19-point blowout to cash their ticket to the championship game. Next, Iowa faced off against Uconn, two teams led by the best players in college. Through a hard-fought game and questionable foul calls, Iowa squeaked by the Huskies in a two-point win.
Iowa vs. South Carolina are two dominant and important teams to women’s basketball. Iowa has the most popular and one of the most talented players that women’s basketball has ever seen, while South Carolina has rolled through the entirety of the tournament with ease while being undefeated through the regular season, with a 109-3 record across the last three seasons. These two teams clashed in the most watched college women’s basketball game of all time, peaking at 14.2 million. In this game, even though Clark finished with 30 the combined effort of South Carolina’s team, dominated the Hawkeyes as they won 87/75, taking the championship. This makes it South Carolina’s second championship title in three years, and it surely won’t be their last.
