South Carolina Basketball: The Gamecocks are National Champions

South Carolina Basketball vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Stats, Scoring, and Observations

South Carolina basketball bounced back from a 1st quarter in which Caitlin Clark set an NCAA Tournament record for scoring to dominate the rest of the game, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes for the National Championship by a score of 87-75.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

Iowa

Points

Leader: Caitlin Clark with 30

Rebounds

Leader: Caitlin Clark with 8

Assists

Leader: Caitlin Clark with 5

Steals

Leader: Gabbie Marshall with 3

Blocks

Leader: Addison O'Grady and Hannah Stuelke each with 2

Team

The Hawkeyes shot 39.7%/39.1%/80% and had 9 turnovers

South Carolina

Points

Leader: Tessa Johnson with 19

Rebounds

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso with 17

Assists

Leader: MiLaysia Fulwiley with 4

Steals

Leader: Raven Johnson with 4

Blocks

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso with 3

Team

The Gamecocks shot 47.9%/42.1%/52.9% and had 13 turnovers

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Raven Johnson-Te-Hina Paopao-Bree Hall-Chloe Kitts-Kamilla Cardoso
• The Gamecocks were getting thrown around by Caitlin Clark (literally; Bree Hall was thrown to the ground on one possession), but the referees refused to call her for a foul. Iowa took 8 free throws in the 1st quarter, while South Carolina shot 0.
• Iowa shot well early, and Carolina did not, allowing the Hawkeye lead to be 20-9 in just 5 minutes.
• Caitlin Clark broke the all-time record for NCAA Tournament points in a quarter with 18 in the 1st quarter. She also broke the NCAA Tournament career scoring mark in the game.
• The Gamecocks held Clark to just 3 points in the 2nd quarter as they came storming back. They also forced Clark into 3 turnovers in the period. Raven Johnson showed herself to be the best option against Clark.
• Kamilla Cardoso was dominant with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the 1st half.
• Te-Hina Paopao went 3-3 from outside in the 1st half.
• As the officials continued to favor Iowa with their whistles, foul trouble was a factor at halftime as Tessa Johnson, Ashlyn Watkins, and Bree Hall all had 2 fouls.
• The 3rd quarter was another defensive masterclass from the Gamecocks as they held Clark to 4 points on 8 shots and outscored Iowa by 6 points despite a less-than-stellar offensive showing.
• Tessa Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley continued to play well. So did Kamilla Cardoso and Chloe Kitts.
• The officials made things interesting in the 4th quarter with some...interesting?...calls that went against the Gamecocks, but Carolina dominated down the stretch, making the whistles irrelevant.