The gritty battle for the women’s college basketball championship on Sunday between Louisiana State and Iowa drew an average of 9.9 million viewers, making it the most viewed N.C.A.A. women’s basketball final in television history, ESPN said on Monday. Peak viewership hovered around 12.6 million views and overall viewership was about double the viewership of the championship game last year.
It was the most viewed college sporting event ever on ESPN+, the sports network’s streaming platform, the network said. The game was, for the first time in decades, on ABC, ESPN’s parent network, as Louisiana State’s rebounding star Angel Reese and Iowa’s dazzling 3-point shooter Caitlin Clark put on a show.
“This is the game we love and seeing it get the recognition it deserves is obviously super rewarding,” Monika Czinano, Iowa’s starting center, said on Sunday. “It’s about time women’s basketball gets this kind of viewership, and it can only go up.”
For viewers just tuning into the women’s game, Czinano offered two words of advice: “Buckle up.”
“It’s only going to get more exciting and more fun,” she said. “The game is evolving in such a great way. I’m glad you’re tuning in now, but keep it up.”
The preliminary viewership numbers compiled by…
