College Basketball: South Carolina defeat Iowa to lift NCAA Championship
The goal of redemption resulted in perfection for South Carolina's women's basketball team. Confetti fell on the Gamecocks after freshman Tessa Johnson scored a career-high 19 points to lead South Carolina to an 87-75 national championship victory over fellow No. 1 seed Iowa on Sunday at a sold-out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
It is a victory that avenges the Gamecocks' defeat to the Hawkeyes in last season's national semifinals. That was South Carolina's last loss, as they finished the season 38-0. The Gamecocks become the first undefeated champions in women's college basketball since UConn's 2015-16 team.
South Carolina is the tenth team to go undefeated, and the fifth programme to do so, joining the Huskies, Baylor, Tennessee, and Texas.
This is South Carolina's third national title under coach Dawn Staley.
"I'm super excited to share this moment with our team. They are incredible human beings and young people who trusted, believed and figured out a way to help each other, learn and grow, and ultimately become champions," Staley said. "It was emotional for me because of how it ended last year."
Johnson, who did not start, went 7-for-11 from the field and had four rebounds in 25 minutes. South Carolina also got two double-doubles from frontcourt players: Kamilla Cardoso with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds and Chloe Kitts with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao tallied 14 points for the Gamecocks.
"Tessa was due for a breakout game. What (is) better than on a national stage? She's trusted her process here," Paopao said. "She's trusted her journey. And for her to do that on such a big stage, I'm so proud of her. Her confidence has grown so much."
Cardoso, who also had three blocks and two assists, was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.
Iowa (34-5) are still without a title after losing in the championship game for the second straight season. The result ends the career of superstar guard Caitlin Clark, the all-time leading scorer in Division I college basketball. Clark finished her final game in a Hawkeyes uniform with 30 points on 10-of-28 shooting, eight rebounds, and five assists.
"It's really hard to win these things," Clark said. "I think I probably know that better than most people by now. To be so close twice, it definitely hurts, but at the same time, we were right there. We battled."
Kate Martin scored 16 points for Iowa, Sydney Affolter added 12, and Hannah Stuelke contributed 11.
Iowa got off to a fast start in the game. Clark scored 18 points in the first quarter to help the Hawkeyes take an early 11-point lead. It was only the fourth time this season that the Gamecocks trailed after one quarter.
However, in the second quarter, South Carolina's top-ranked defence came into play. In the second quarter, the Gamecocks held Clark to three points on 1-of-6 shooting and went on a 16-7 run to take a two-point lead. Paopao's second-chance 3-pointer and Raven Johnson's fastbreak layup gave the Gamecocks a three-point lead at halftime.
"I was ready for the moment. And I take defense very hard, like I take it to heart. I studied her moves, and I was ready," Raven Johnson said of her defense on Clark. "I had confidence this year. I was telling myself last year's not going to happen again."
South Carolina then went on an 11-2 run in the middle of the third quarter to take its own 11-point lead. Tessa Johnson hit two three-pointers during that time and assisted Bree Hall on another.
Iowa never regained the lead. Kitts' offensive rebound and second-chance layup extended South Carolina's lead to 14 points, its largest of the game, with 7:40 remaining.
South Carolina won the rebounding battle 51-29, outscoring Iowa 30-16 on second chances. Furthermore, the Gamecocks received 37 points from their bench, whereas the Hawkeyes received zero points from non-starting players. Simply put, South Carolina were bigger and deeper than Iowa.
SportsLigue