The NCAA women’s championship game on Sunday afternoon was a reminder that team play, not a big name, wins trophies more often than not. Iowa’s basketball star, Caitlin Clark — as close to a complete player as one could hope to find in the college game — met her match in the form of South Carolina’s superior squad, which effected a stifling defense and aggressive rebounding on its way to a conclusive 87–75 victory.
Iowa’s obvious disadvantage in size (and, frankly, will) during the closing minutes of the game was confirmed in the box score, with the Gamecocks out-rebounding the Hawkeyes practically two to one (49 and 25, respectively). Add to that a cavalcade of long-range makes from the Gamecocks every time Iowa came within striking distance, as the latter couldn’t buy a shot from outside the arc, and Iowa’s decision to roll over in the final minute and pull its star player was equal parts embarrassing and understandable.
While the championship loss was a bitter pill for the Hawkeyes after their loss the year before to LSU, their run captured the nation’s interest in a way that women’s basketball rarely (if ever) does. The presumptive first pick of this year’s WNBA draft class, Caitlin Clark, and her brand of hero ball carried the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA women’s championship, defeating their nemeses LSU in the Elite Eight (94–87) and then pulling down the royalty of college basketball, the University of Connecticut (71–69), in the Final Four.
Congratulations to South Carolina for playing Iowa the right way — forcing Clark into tough looks — while putting together a team talented enough to maintain that pace of defensive effort throughout. All five starters for the Gamecocks are expected to be drafted alongside Clark. Watching the last half unfold, one could hear a thousand coaches cry out in their living rooms, “That’s how you play defense!” No matter how good a team’s shooter is, it’s difficult to outscore airtight defense and tenacious rebounding. The fundamentals remain undefeated — as does South Carolina.