CLEVELAND — Caitlin Clark chucked the ball into the air as the buzzer sounded in the 2023 national semifinals, clinching her Iowa Hawkeyes‘ 77-73 upset win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. At the time, the result was shocking: The Hawkeyes had handed the Gamecocks their first loss of the season and advanced to the program’s first national championship game.
Iowa’s magic last season ran out two days later when the LSU Tigers won the NCAA title.
Little did anyone know that the March 31, 2023 Final Four showdown would preview a contest yet to come with even higher stakes.
A year later, South Carolina and Iowa will meet for the 2024 women’s NCAA title, and in many ways, few anticipated Sunday’s matchup (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App). The Gamecocks graduated all five starters from last season, and weren’t expected — both outside of Columbia and within the program — to be this good, at least in the preseason. Iowa also lost two key players, took some bumps during the regular season and,…
