Nobody expected South Carolina to have the season they had after losing all five starters to the WNBA. But on Sunday the Gamecocks lifted their third national title trophy, defeating Caitlin Clark and Iowa 87-75 to become the 10th national champion to complete a perfect season.
After a slow start that saw Iowa jump out to a 10-0 lead — and a record-breaking 18-point first-quarter from Clark — the Gamecocks made the necessary changes to pull away in the second half. Once Raven Johnson shifted to become the primary defender on Clark, the Gamecocks held the Iowa star to just 12 points over the final three quarters.
The Gamecocks also decisively won two important areas of the game — rebounding and bench scoring. South Carolina out-rebounded Iowa 51-29, led by 17 from Most Outstanding Player Kamilla Cardoso, and Gamecock's bench players outscored their Hawkeye counterparts 37-0.
The Gamecocks, who finished the season 38-0, always find a way and their size and grit sealed this win to return the championship trophy to Columbia.
South Carolina's star center was a problem for teams all tournament. Her size makes her hard to guard unless a team is throwing a double at her, leaving other shooting options open, and she is a force on the glass.
Cardoso's greatness was on full display in the title game and she was named Most Outstanding Player after a 15-point, 17-rebound, three-block performance. The double-double was her third of the tournament, and she shot 50 per cent from the floor.
Cardoso was crucial to South Carolina's success all season and she averaged 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in the tournament while also giving every opponent's big a challenge defensively in the paint.
In the 2023 Final Four, Raven Johnson was waved off by Clark defensively, who was seemingly uninterested in guarding the then-freshman. The Hawkeyes won that matchup, ending the Gamecocks' season and sending their "Freshies" class off with a loss.
Johnson dubbed the 2023-24 season "Raven's Revenge Tour," and her performance in the national title game showed exactly the kind of player she can be. Not only did she lock down Clark defensively, but she also grabbed four steals, five assists and five rebounds in the win.
While the national title game may not have been one of Johnson's highest-scoring performances of her career, her defence and court vision were essential in keeping Iowa from any easy baskets.
The bench points were a large part of what separated South Carolina and Iowa on Sunday and South Carolina's bench was led by freshman Tessa Johnson, who tallied a career-high 19 points.
Johnson shot 7-of-11 overall including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Playing 25 minutes off the bench, Johnson was crucial in South Carolina's turnaround third quarter that saw them extend their lead to double digits.
Johnson has consistently earned minutes during the tournament and averaged 10.2 points off the bench — including 15 points in South Carolina's win over Oregon State. But her impact was essential in the title win.
Cardoso and Tessa Johnson weren't the only ones to hit double-digit scoring for South Carolina as Chloe Kitts, Te-Hina Paopao and Milaysia Fulwiley all made significant contributions, too.
Paopao shot 75 per cent from deep and also added two assists and a steal while Kitts finished the game with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Fulwiley, another all-around player for South Carolina, added nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
Every single player who played for South Carolina in the national title game scored at least one basket in the win, with Bree Hall scoring seven points, Sania Feagin adding six and Ashlyn Watkins grabbing three.
Clark led Iowa in points, rebounds and assists, leaving everything she had on the court in her final collegiate game. She tallied 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists — including 18 first-quarter points — while Kate Martin added 16 points and five rebounds.
Sydney Affolter added 12 points, three assists and three rebounds while Hannah Stuelke dropped in another 11 points and Gabbie Marshall notched six. But the rest of Iowa's rotation didn't score a single point, with some bench players playing as many as 13 minutes.
Martin, Clark and Marshall all played for the full 40 minutes, and Affolter played 35, as Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder leaned hard on her best players to give her team a shot at winning the national championship. But Iowa's failure to keep up with the depth that the Gamecocks brought to the title game was a key difference between the two teams.
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