Today is the culmination of a tremendous season of women’s college basketball in the US. The University of South Carolina Gamecocks face off against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. (Full disclosure: I’m a University of South Carolina alum and fan).
Even if you’re not a college basketball fan, you’ve likely heard about Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark, who recently passed Pete Maravich the NCAA Division I basketball all-time leading scorer. She’s opted to enter the WNBA draft, and experts have said she may yet exceed LeBron James’ all-time career scoring of 40,000 points.
University of South Carolina’s team coach Dawn Staley (a legend in her own right) says this about Clark:
“It’s a monumental game for our game,” South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said. “We’re very fortunate to be a part of it. We get to witness firsthand the legacy of Caitlin Clark. You watch her. You prep for her. You can’t help but to really love how she dissects the game. You love how she executes. I mean, it’s simple. Her game is simple and yet powerful. How do you defend fundamental basketball? You can’t. She’s going to win every time.”
The Gamecocks are also ready to play. They are undefeated this season, at 38-0 after their 78-59 semifinal win over North Carolina State. Yes, you read that right: un-de-feat-ed. Some news outlets favor them to win today’s matchup. We shall see. I know this: I’ll be watching.
Maybe the fact that March Madness this year is focused on women’s basketball isn’t surprising to you, dear readers. But, let’s take a moment to look back to 2021: the women’s NCAA tournament facilities and food and branding were completely substandard, compared with the men’s tournament. I wrote about it here: who can forget the poor-excuse for weight room consisting of a small tower of hand weights, a sad little table, and some yoga mats?
Three years later, the New Yorker is writing about how women’s basketball became the best thing in college sports. And LeBron James is gushing over the game, noting the star power and elegant play. This is all deserved praise, and hard-won.
If you’re free at 3pm Eastern Time today, I suggest you check out the final. You’ll see teamwork, expert strategy, great athletic prowess, and women doing it for themselves and their teams. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?
