Perfect Champs! South Carolina upends Iowa to win 2024 NCAA national title
Deferred. Not denied. And never in doubt.
Sweet, sweet revenge.
No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 1 Iowa 87-75 in the NCAA championship game Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
The Gamecocks completed their “revenge tour,” having redeemed their 2023 Final Four loss to the Hawkeyes and, in doing so, won the program’s third national championship. This USC team is the 10th in Division I history to go undefeated (38-0) and win a national title.
“I’m super excited to share this moment with our team,” coach Dawn Staley said. “They are incredible human beings and young people who trusted, believed and figured out a way to help each other, learn and grow, and ultimately become champions.”
South Carolina started guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall along with forward Chloe Kitts and center Kamilla Cardoso.
Four Gamecocks scored in double digits Sunday: Cardoso (15), Paopao (14), Tessa Johnson (19), Kitts (11).
“I did want to see them in the national championship this year because what happened last year,” Raven Johnson said of facing Iowa. “It was apology to my teammates, my coaches and myself. And I just feel like, like I said, it was a revenge tour. And there’s no better way than to play them in the championship and beat them.”
Here are three takeaways from the championship game:
Tough start, strong response for USC
Iowa opened the championship game on a 10-0 run.
South Carolina started 0-of-6 from the field. Not the kind of beginning a team would hope for when playing the nation’s best scoring offense.
But the Gamecocks showed poise and fought back, leading to five ties and three changes in the first half. They capitalized off Iowa turnovers, turning its five lost possessions into 11 points. USC’s depth also shined in the resurgence, scoring 22 of the team’s 49 points before intermission.
Defense also tightened up after the first period. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark score 18 points in the first 10 minutes. South Carolina held her to just 3 in the second and 4 in the third.
USC outscored Iowa 29-19 in the second quarter and 19-13 in the third. Iowa went on an 8-0 run during the fourth and later cut it to five (80-75), but South Carolina held on.
South Carolina dominates the boards
As they usually do, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Hawkeyes handily Sunday.
Through three quarters, USC had 38 boards (25 defensive and 13 offensive) to Iowa’s 25 (19 defensive six offensive). South Carolina turned those 13 offensive boards into 21 points, and the defensive boards denied Iowa many chances to score.
The Gamecocks ended the night with 51 rebounds, led by 17 from Cardoso — who was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player.
New Gamecocks make a difference
MiLaysia Fulwiley, Tessa Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao contributed big to South Carolina’s gritty first-half performance.
Fulwiley, as she is prone to do, provided an immediate spark for the Gamecocks coming off the bench. She dropped a nice pass to Sania Feagin inside to cut Iowa’s lead to single digits for the first time and scored 7 points in her first three minutes on the court.
Tessa Johnson — who joined Cardoso on the All-Final Four team — hit big shots, including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 34 apiece. Paopao hit three 3s in the first half.
Fulwiley launched a pass from one end of the court to the other for Tessa Johnson, who drained the wide-open 3 in the third quarter. It was her third 3 of the game and USC’s eighth overall.
This story was originally published April 7, 2024 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Perfect Champs! South Carolina upends Iowa to win 2024 NCAA national title."
