What happened
The University of South Carolina women’s basketball team finished their perfect season with a come-from-behind victory over superstar Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday to win this year’s NCAA championship, 87-75.
Who said what
South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said after the Gamecocks’ victory that her team had “etched their names in the history books.” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder celebrated her team’s two-year streak of second-place finishes as an “amazing feat.” For Clark, Sunday’s game was the capstone to a “special year.”
The commentary
Fueled in part by Clark’s superstardom, women’s basketball is arguably a “hotter cultural event right now than the men’s game,” Slate said. “She has changed both her game and how women’s sports overall are viewed,” USA Today said.
What next?
Clark is off to New York City where she is widely expected to be next week’s #1 WNBA draft pick.