DALLAS — It’s a sport, so the numbers will matter.
They can be celebrated by winners and help tell the story. They can track the losing side, but they’ll still provide context. The numbers from Friday night’s Final Four match between No. 2 Iowa and No. 1 South Carolina are significant. Like 77-73 – the result that shocked many because it was in Iowa’s favour. Like 41 – the number of points Caitlin Clark scored. Or 49 — the number of rebounds the Gamecocks snatched, even with their All-America post Aliyah Boston on the bench for much of the first half with two fouls. Or 20 — the number of South Carolina fouls, some of which should (or shouldn’t) be whistles, depending on who you ask. Or 19,288 – the sold-out crowd at American Airlines Arena for the Final Four games.
But the number that will matter most years will be the one that cannot be dissected by film school coaches or deciphered from a box score. When TV viewing figures are released, they will break records. While it wasn’t known exactly how many TVs were on Friday night, we can say with relative certainty that the Final Four between Iowa and South Carolina will be the best-watched women’s basketball game of all time.
It was a good game because of the setup and debate, but it was a great game because it actually lived up to the hype as the field was reduced from four Dallas women’s college basketball teams to two.
It was billed as Caitlin Clark vs. Aliyah Boston, current International of the Year vs former International of the Year. But the anticipation of this game was about so much more. An offense led by a generational goalscorer against one of the best team defenses in women’s college basketball history, a defense so good that South Carolina coach Dawn Staley played five different duels against Clark was able to slow down an unstoppable player. The game delivered.
“I think tonight showed how much fun women’s basketball can be,” Clark said. “Two really great teams that made it. I’m sure so many people wish this was a series of seven. That would be really, really fun.”
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Both Iowa and South Carolina have had their starting cores together over the past three seasons, building a continuity that’s almost impossible to match and that’s made these matchups such much better, even closer chess games. There would be no surprises or changes that no team had seen, considered, or figured out. Monika Czinano wouldn’t suddenly become a high-volume dribbler, and Boston wouldn’t go to the 3-point line to start shots.
Of course there will be other numbers that stand out for Staley. Three turnovers that the Gamecocks had late, had they not happened, might have meant the game might have gone differently. Three turnovers that, if it had been two or one or zero, might have made the difference between South Carolina turning the tide or digging a hole they can’t climb out of. That could have meant that Staley wouldn’t be answering questions about next season just yet because there was still some left over from that season. It may have meant she’s still contemplating chasing perfection, finishing a 38-0 season rather than 36-1.
But for fans of the game, this was simply a demonstration of excellent basketball players playing at the highest level for two Hall of Fame coaches. And that gave all 19,288 in the arena and the millions at home one hell of a show.
“I hope they saw some individual performances that will bring them back. I hope they saw the strength of a team that was undefeated and I hope they want to learn a lot more about not just us but LSU and what Kim Mulkey has accomplished this season and at a national reach the championship game. …Virginia Tech and Kenny Brooks and his first appearance in the Final Four. And then just the entire tournament,” Staley said. “We didn’t all have No. 1 seeds here, and I hope they’re asking why. And they’re going to find that we’ve had some incredible, exciting games that resulted in not everyone being the No. 1 seed here.”
On Sunday, the women’s national championship will not seed a No. 1 for the third time in history. It won’t show the team that seemed destined to be there (South Carolina) or the team that seemed always to be there (UConn). There won’t be the sport’s most accomplished coach (Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer) or any other enduring force.
Instead, on Sunday one of the last two teams will win its first national title.
Iowa and LSU stand out in different ways. The Hawkeyes have the Caitlin Clark Show, but the Tigers have the show. Cut it any way you like and it’s still good for women’s basketball. As nearly 20,000 fill the seats to watch LSU’s Angel Reese and Clark at Sunday’s title game, and millions more tune in to see what Kim Mulkey might wear, they’ll be counted out for 40 minutes of basketball.
This season’s stats will fall by the wayside as each team returns to a 0-0 record. Ratings from Friday’s Iowa-South Carolina competition will illustrate the exponential growth of women’s basketball and the growing national demand for it. But the game will also be remembered with countless benefits for the sport.
(Top Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)