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By DOUG FEINBERG (AP Basketball Writer)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Dawn Staley and South Carolina completed their perfect season, ending Caitlin Clark’s storied college career with an 87-75 victory over Iowa in the NCAA championship game on Sunday.
With Staley leading a relentless attack from the wing, the Gamecocks (38-0) became the 10th Division I team to go a season without a loss. And they accomplished the feat after losing all five starters from last season’s team that lost to Clark’s team in the national semifinals.
“It doesn’t always end the way you want, like last year. But my rookies are close to my heart because they wanted this. Is awesome. …. Is awesome. Is awesome. “It’s amazing,” Staley said. “When young people get a foothold and have a belief and a trust, and their parents have the same trust, this is what can happen. They made history. They recorded their names in the history books.”
Clark did everything he could to lead the Hawkeyes to their first championship. He scored 30 points, including a championship-high 18 in the first quarter. She will go down as one of the greatest players in NCAA history. She rewrote the record book at Iowa (34-5), finishing as the leading career scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,951 career points.
He hopes his legacy won’t be defined by coming up short in two NCAA championship games, but rather by the millions of new fans he helped bring to the game and the countless girls and boys he inspired.
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s really hard to win these things, I think I know better than most people now, being that close twice really hurts,” Clark said.
When the final buzzer sounded, a stoic Clark walked off the court, through the confetti and into the tunnel leading to the locker room.
“I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for elevating our sport. She carried a great burden for our sport,” Staley said. “She is also going to lift that league (WNBA). Caitlin Clark, if you’re there, you’re one of the GOATS of our game. We appreciate you.”
South Carolina has won three titles in the last eight years, including two of the last three, to claim to be the last dynasty in women’s basketball. Staley became the fifth coach to win at least three national championships, joining Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt, Kim Mulkey and Tara VanDerveer.
The Gamecocks, who have won 109 of their last 112 games, became the first team since UConn in 2016 to go undefeated. South Carolina had a couple of scares throughout the season, but always found a way to win.
With most of the team returning next year except for star center Kamilla Cardoso, Staley’s team is in a good position to keep this streak going.
Tessa Johnson led South Carolina with 19 points. Cardoso, the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament, scored 15 points and 17 rebounds.
“Kamilla Cardoso wasn’t going to let us lose a game in the NCAA Tournament,” Staley said. “She played through an injury, she played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft and her teammates did something that no teammate has done for someone who went to the WNBA in our program. They fire her as national champion. So this is history for us.”
Led by Cardoso and 6-foot-7 Ashlyn Watkins, South Carolina enjoyed a 51-29 rebounding advantage. He also finished with 30 second-chance points.
The Gamecocks also showed off their impressive depth. Johnson helped the team achieve a 37-0 point differential among reserves.
South Carolina trailed 46-44 late in the second quarter before going on an 11-0 run that spanned halftime to open a 55-46 lead early in the third quarter. Clark finally finished the run with a layup.
The Hawkeyes closed to within 59-55 and had a chance to get even closer, but Hannah Stuelke missed an open layup on a brilliant pass from Clark.
South Carolina responded with the next eight points, including two 3-pointers. The Gamecocks, who were 4 of 20 from behind the 3-point line during last season’s Final Four loss to Iowa, were 8 of 19 from deep against the Hawkeyes this time around.
The Gamecocks led 68-59 after the third. They led 76-64 early in the fourth before back-to-back 3-pointers by Clark and Gabbie Marshall brought Iowa within six.
Iowa trailed 80-75 after a three-point play by Sydney Affolter with 4:12 left. That would be the last point the Hawkeyes would score, as South Carolina scored the final seven of the game.
Clark retired with 20 seconds left as Iowa coach Lisa Bluder replaced fellow senior Molly Davis, who hadn’t played since getting hurt in the regular-season finale against Ohio State.
Unlike the semifinals, when Clark struggled against UConn’s defense, he got going early against South Carolina. Clark scored 13 straight points for Iowa after the Hawkeyes took a 7-0 lead, including another logo 3-pointer, to help his school take a 20-9 lead at the first media timeout.
South Carolina cut the score to 22-20 with 1:30 left in the period before Clark scored the final five points, including a 3-pointer over Cardoso. Clark’s 18 points in the first quarter set a championship game record, surpassing the 16 LSU’s Jasmine Carson had last year against the Hawkeyes.
He only scored three points in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the period. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks used their depth and internal dominance to get back into the game. Cardoso scored 11 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks trailed 46-44 in the final minute when Te-Hina PaoPao hit a 3-pointer and Raven Johnson stole the ball from Clark near midcourt for a layup. South Carolina led 49-46 at the half.
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AP March Madness Bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and Coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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