Iowa’s Caitlin Clark talks to teammate Gabbie Marshall on Saturday during practice for the NCAA Women’s Final Four championship basketball game on Sunday.
CLEVELAND — For all the reasons to be excited about the South Carolina-Iowa women’s national championship game, the idea that it’s a rematch perhaps shouldn’t be one of them.
Yes, the teams met in last year’s Final Four, a 77-73 Hawkeyes win with Caitlin Clark as the hero. But both sides have major differences this time around — and it’s worth emphasizing both.
It’s been discussed plenty by now that South Carolina had five players get drafted into the WNBA last year. It hasn’t been as discussed, at least not lately, that former Iowa star forward Monika Czinano moved on to play overseas, which had a big impact on the team’s frontcourt depth.
So it really will be a different game today, and the teams are first to say it. When South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was asked if she’s watched last year’s film to prepare for this time, the Philly native answered plainly: “Yeah, I haven’t watched last year’s game. The focus is on this team this year.”
Clark said the Hawkeyes hadn’t watched the film either.
“This South Carolina team is completely different: some of the stuff they run is completely different, we have to guard them completely different,” Clark said. “I don’t think it’s something you go back and watch. I don’t think it’s very helpful at all, other than the fact of maybe what we did.”
Raven Johnson is one of the few current Gamecocks who played in last year’s game, including an infamous moment of receiving a taunt from Clark.
Johnson admitted that she watched replays of the loss “more than 100 times, probably,” so often that her teammates had to convince her to stop.
“I probably was stressing myself out watching it,” she said. “The last time I watched it was probably last year. I stopped watching it. I had to. They made me.”
The sophomore guard has been calling this year “the revenge season” for her and her team. It wasn’t meant to be just about Iowa, but now that it is, she isn’t backing away from it.
“I mean, yeah, Iowa was the team that I was looking forward to playing, and luckily it’s for the national championship,” Johnson said. “It’s no better way of beating a team that beat you last year — well, hopefully beat the team that beat you last year. I mean, that’s a good feeling, and I think that’ll complete the revenge tour.”
South Carolina is favored to do it, and not just by the bettors. As former Connecticut star Sue Bird said at an event Saturday with fiancée Megan Rapinoe in a downtown sports bar, the Gamecocks are so good that they’re not getting talked about enough.
Clark obviously is a huge factor in that, but it’s not just her. So many of the tournament’s individual stars have received more hype than the No. 1 overall team, which has just kept on winning.
It so happens that South Carolina’s biggest strength — the size of its frontcourt — is an area that Iowa will have the hardest time stopping. The group is led by 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, who was superb in the Final Four win over N.C. State with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
“Kamilla’s been playing so well, just runs the floor beautifully, rebounds incredibly, [is] shooting the ball well,” said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. “One person can’t stop her, there’s no way. I don’t know if two or three can stop her, to be quite honest. So I’m not going to give that up just to one person to have to try to handle that.”
We don’t know yet how Iowa will deal with Cardoso and company, but we know the outcome will produce a worthy champion. Either Clark will finish her college career with a title, or South Carolina will cap off the 10th unbeaten season in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history.
“Iowa is a challenge — they’re playing their best basketball, they’re playing inspired,” Staley said. “They’re playing like they want to win a national championship. So are we.”
Staley never won one as a player despite making three Final Four appearances at the University of Virginia. Now she’s one win away from her third as a coach. She knows how big this moment is for both teams.
“You’ve got to win a championship,” Staley said. “If Caitlin wins a championship, she’s pretty damn good — like, yeah, she’s a GOAT. I mean, she’s pretty damn good regardless, but you know, winning a championship would seal the deal.”
Then she added one more flourish: “I hope to the dear Lord she doesn’t.”
