DALLAS — This was the show we came to see.
Caitlin Clark had 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Iowa beat South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four. As the seconds wound down, Clark dribbled underneath the basket, threw the ball up into the crowd and waved her arms up in her best Gladiator impression as if to ask the crowd, “are you not entertained?”
Clark literally willed her team into the national championship. After putting on a show in the Elite Eight, when she became the first player to ever record a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA tournament (women’s or men’s), we wondered how she would follow up that performance. Especially against No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, the defending champions who seemed destined to win back-to-back titles for the first time since UConn did it in 2016.
The Gamecocks were riding a perfect season. They were supposed to go onto become undefeated national champions, previously riding a 42-game winning streak that dated back to last year’s SEC title game loss to Kentucky.
Clark didn’t care. As everyone knows, she’s been the magic show of the season. She’s fearless like Steph Curry and oozes confidence and swagger like Diana Taurasi, who was watching in person here in Dallas. Clark plays to the crowd and can pull up from the logo like it’s an easy jump shot.
Except the funny thing about this Final Four win is that Clark didn’t even have a logo 3. She actually went 5-of-17 from behind the arc. Iowa, which averages 37% per game from that range, was only good for 30%.
Iowa led 59-55 heading into the fourth quarter, but it didn’t seem like it could sustain the style of play. South Carolina was too aggressive on the boards. Even though two-time defensive player of the year Aliyah Boston wasn’t playing lights out, South Carolina could rely on the 6-foot-7 Kamila Cardosa to make plays, and she did. But then Clark scored or assisted on every single point in the fourth quarter, and about midway through it, there was an overwhelming feeling that the mighty Gamecocks were going down.
“Let’s go Hawks!” chants reverberated throughout the American Airlines Center and it actually felt like the entire sellout crowd of 19,288 fans was on their side.
Iowa came out hot to start the game. The Hawkeyes took off early and jumped out to a 22-13 lead after one quarter. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley gave various players the assignment of guarding Clark, as Kierra Fletcher, Raven Johnson, Laeticia Amihere and Bree Hall all tried their best. But it didn’t matter because Clark blew past all of them and by halftime she had 19 points and six assists. A stat line most players would be happy with at the end of a game. Iowa pushed the pace, forced turnovers and made the Gamecocks uncomfortable. Boston even left the first quarter early with two fouls and sat on the bench until halftime. She played eight minutes in the first half.
Iowa defied all odds and still won. South Carolina outrebounded Iowa 49-25, its bench scored 38 points and had 24 second-chance points to Iowa’s eight.
It’s just a testament to the legendary reputation that Clark is building.
And the best part for fans everywhere is that no matter what happens in Sunday’s title game, Clark is only a junior and has at least one more season left in Iowa.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
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Caitlin Clark Aliyah Boston
