- South Carolina is crowned this year’s NCAA champion at the expense of Caitlin Clark
- Clark had 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s game at Ohio.
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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley walked back her pre-championship comments about Caitlin Clark, describing the Iowa star as the “GOAT” while thanking her for “improving our game » after breaking down in tears after the Gamecocks’ NCAA title. earn.
Staley, who has been in charge of South Carolina’s women’s basketball program since 2008, struggled to find the right words to describe how she felt and needed a minute to collect herself after winning her second basketball championship. the NCAA with the Gamecocks in three years and his third overall. .
In a postgame interview with ESPN, she cried on camera as players lifted her despite clearly feeling overwhelmed with emotion.
“I’m so proud, so proud,” Staley, who wore a several thousand dollars’ worth of Louis Vuitton jacket to Sunday’s game, first said into the microphone. “I am incredibly happy for our players. It doesn’t always end the way you want it to end, a bit like last year… I’m just super proud of where I work, I’m super proud of our fans. It’s awesome and amazing.
“(…) I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for improving our sport,” she added in tribute to the NCAA’s top scorer in men’s and women’s college hoops. “She carried a heavy load for our sport. …Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you’re one of the GOATs in our game. We appreciate you.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was at a loss for words after her team’s NCAA title victory.
The Gamecocks head coach walked back his pregame comments by calling Caitlin Clark “the GOAT” in his post-championship victory remarks to ESPN.
Clark scored a game-high 30 points in Sunday’s national championship against undefeated South Carolina (38-0), including a game-high 18 in the first quarter.
The 22-year-old calmed down a bit from there, however, as the Gamecocks pulled away for an 87-75 victory, making the Hawkeyes the national runner-up for a second straight season.
Clark made 10 of 28 shots – including 5 of 13 from 3-point range – and finished his four-year stay in Iowa City, Iowa with 3,951 points and a personal record success. She added five assists and eight rebounds in this year’s title game.
Clark 30 pts, eight rebounds and five assists in Iowa’s 87-75 loss to South Carolina in Ohio
The 22-year-old is now destined for the WNBA but was close to tears while speaking to reporters after losing her second consecutive NCAA championship game.
Clark’s run to back-to-back NCAA finals helped make the women’s tournament appointment television. Its broadcasts set a new television audience record for women’s college basketball twice in the last week alone, with another record likely waiting after the title game.
“You’ve got to let the kids be who they are,” Staley said after South Carolina’s 87-75 victory, referring to Clark and his own players.
“But you also have to guide them and help them navigate it. When young people lock themselves away, have a belief and a confidence, and their parents have the same confidence, this is what can happen.
“They made history. They have etched their names in the history books.
