The much anticipated National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Basketball March Madness Championship brought over 18.7 million viewers, the most in all of basketball NCAA history. The March Madness season started with the top 64 teams in the nation competing for the spot as top 32. Sixteen teams then went into the Sweet 16 round where they battled against each other for a spot in the Elite 8.
Among the winners of the Elite 8 were reigning Champions Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, their rivals with record breaker Caitlyn Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes, the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies, who have been to the Elite 8 for the 28th year, the underdogs North Carolina (NC) State Wolfpack, Texas, and Oregon State.
The results of the Elite 8 ended with Texas losing to the unpredictable NC State win and UConn, with star Paige Bueckers, beating phenomenal freshman, Juju Watkins, and the rest of the University of Southern California (USC) team. With the highly anticipated LSU versus Iowa rematch, Iowa took the win this time around while South Carolina continued their undefeated record by beating Oregon State.
As the Final Four came, numerous records were broken by star shooter, Caitlyn Clark, from the Iowa Hawkeyes. Just to name a few, she was named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and Iowa’s All time leading scorer. Clark also achieved the most 30-point games by any man or women in Division 1 college basketball history, scored most points ever in a single season in Division 1 women’s history, first player in NCAA history with three career 40-point games, shot the most three pointers in a single season by any man or women in Division 1 history, and became the all-time NCAA Division 1 women’s and men’s scoring leader of all Division 1 history.
When the Final Four arrived, the much-awaited matchup between Clark and Bueckers did not disappoint. Both teams battled out until Iowa won by just two points due to a controversial offensive foul by senior center Aaliyah Edwards on the Hawkeye’s Gabby Marshall. This led Iowa to the championship to face South Carolina, who defeated NC State in a blowout game beating them 78-59. The game with Iowa vs. UConn attracted almost 14.3 million viewers, breaking the NCAA record for most viewers.
As the Championship for the “Natty” filled every stadium seat possible, 18.7 million viewers from home watched to see if Iowa would receive their first ever Championship. Fans also speculated over whether Clark would draft into the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a champion, or if South Carolina would win their third Natty trophy and complete their season undefeated. As the game went back and forth, Clark scored 30 points but was unable to complete her season with a championship win. South Carolina won with an incredible run in the fourth quarter, leaving the ending score as 87-75 and completing their undefeated record. Meanwhile, their coach, Dawn Stacey, also won her third championship as well.
With the WNBA draft coming soon, many stars included in this 2023-2024 season who have brought more and more viewers to women’s college basketball are going into the draft. These players include Caitlyn Clark, Aaliyah Edwards, Stanford star Cameron Brinks, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, UCLA starter Charisma Osborne, and many more. The draft is expected to be held on April 15.
