Los Angeles: Caitlin Clark’s dream of setting a fabled women’s college basketball career record ended in disappointment as South Carolina defeated Iowa 87-75 to claim the US college crown.
In her final college basketball game before turning professional in the WNBA, Clark finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists at Cleveland’s Rockets Mortgage Arena.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the University of South Carolina from crowning a winning season with a well-deserved win.
Clark led the way from the front and saw the Hawkeyes rattle off 10 unanswered points after an opening layup by Iowa.
A trademark three-pointer from Clark gave Iowa an 18-7 lead, then two free throws soon gave his team a 20-9 lead.
But after an early layup, South Carolina rallied to pull within two points at 22-20 after a layup by Tessa Johnson.
South Carolina took its first lead midway through the second quarter after a layup by 6ft 7in Brazilian center Camilla Cardoso.
Although Iowa hit Clark another three-pointer that put his team up 44-40 shortly after, South Carolina refused to roll over and took the lead after Te-Hina Paopao’s third three of the first half made 47-46.
A rare layup by Clark then gifted a steal to Crow Johnson, who ran unprepared for a basket that made it 49-46 at halftime.
