After two weeks, 68 teams, seven rounds and one winner, the women’s NCAA basketball tournament came to a close on April 7 with The University of South Carolina beating The University of Iowa in the championship game with a score of 87-75.
At first glance, this might seem like just another year of women’s basketball. In reality, the South Carolina vs Iowa championship game garnered 19 million views from across the country, breaking the record for the most watched women’s basketball game ever recorded and most watched game (in both men’s and women’s) since 2019, as well as having more views than the men’s championship game for the first time in history, according to NPR.
This is a massive leap in the world of sports and how people view women’s sports as a whole. In the past, there has been a severe lack of attention to women’s sports compared to men’s. According to WSN, the average viewership for an NBA game in 2022 was 412,000 viewers, while the viewership for a WNBA game averaged at 5,679 viewers. However, this year has proved to changed the game for women’s basketball, with the help of massive talent from the players like Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, USC’s Juju Watkins, Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers, LSU’s Angel Reese, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and many more names.
These names, along with many others, have brought millions of new viewers to the game of women’s college basketball. This season’s Elite Eight game between LSU and Iowa peaked at 16.1 million viewers and averaged 12.3 million viewers throughout the game. The Final Four game between Iowa and UConn reached 14.2 million viewers, according to ESPN.
VHS ASB advisor and girl’s basketball coach, Ann Larson, said, “People have been entertained by Steph Curry and his shooting and passing skills for several years. Now there is a woman, Caitlin Clark, delivering similar excitement for the fans. I also feel some of the increase in interest comes from the male community. Fan following, positive comments and overall support by NBA players, other male athletes and even members of the entertainment world has helped buoy women’s basketball. Jason Sudeikis, Travis Scott, Tom Brady and more, publicly supporting Caitlin Clark is a huge affirmation for women’s sports.”
With the conclusion of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, women’s basketball has finally seen a dramatic increase in attention and has quickly become respected as a sport, with the biggest help coming from the newest face of women’s basketball, Caitlyn Clark.
An Iowa local, Clark committed to the University of Iowa and coach Lisa Bluder in 2019, playing all four years as a Hawkeye. During the regular 2023-24 season, Clark averaged 30.2 points per game (PPG), achieving the most 30-point games of any Division I player in the past 25 seasons. Clark holds numerous records, including the NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader, with 3,951 points, as well as the most career 3-point career field goal percentage (FG%) in NCAA tournament history. Clark is also the winner of two consecutive Wooden Awards, an honor given to the most outstanding player in women’s college basketball. Clark has not only impacted the viewership of women’s basketball, but she continues to inspire young girls across the world. After games, Clark regularly signs autographs, posters and jerseys for her young fans. In an interview with NCAA, Clark said, “It really takes a second out of your day. That’s how I was raised, to go out of your way to show kindness to somebody else.”
Clark had such an impact on the women’s basketball game that the University of Iowa retired Clark’s number, 22, stating on their Instagram, @iowawbb, that, “There will never be another.”
Nicholas Anter ‘24 said, “Caitlyn Clark is a great player. The girls were more interesting [to watch] than the boys this year. Boy’s basketball isn’t as exciting as it used to be with players transferring right out instead of developing in their colleges.”
Despite Clark’s vast number of accomplishments during her time at Iowa, she is not the only player who deserves credit for bringing more attention to women’s basketball – there are plenty of other big (and small) names that changed the game. Brink averaged 11.8 rebounds per game (RPG) during the regular season and had a 60.4 FG%. Brink is also a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, finishing up her senior year at Stanford.
Cardoso stands at 6’7’’and has a 62 FG%. Cardoso’s size and game is what helped lead South Carolina’s to their third championship victory during her final season in college basketball.
In Watkins’ first season in the college game at USC, she proved herself in her career-opening game, scoring 32 points. With a PPG of 26.8, her stats are second only to Clark.
After tearing her ACL during start of the 2023 season, Bueckers made a clear impact in her first season back on the court after over a year. Bueckers averaged 18.8 PPG and also proves strong in her defensive game. Bueckers ranks No. 3 in the top players in women’s college basketball by ESPN, behind Clark and Brink. Bueckers has announced that she will be staying with UConn for the 2024-25 basketball season.
Reese led her team from LSU to a championship against Iowa during the 2023 season and has since scored at least 20 points per game, with a 53.9 FG%. Starting with the championship game last year, the media has sparked a feud between Reese and Clark, where Reese is often painted as classless compared to Clark. While the media paints these women as pitted against each other, there is no denying what both of them have done to bring attention and importance to women’s basketball, with the Elite Eight playoff game between LSU and Iowa reaching 16.1 million viewers. Both girls have publicly praised the other and continue to hug after each game against each other.
“It goes way beyond Caitlin Clark. There is a class of outstanding females currently playing college basketball and entering the WNBA this year. Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso [and] Angel Reese to name a few. Also, younger players such as Juju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo have become household names to many,” said Larson.
Reese, Clark, Cardoso and Brink were personally invited to the WNBA draft on Monday, April 15. As first pick, Clark went to Indiana Fever and Brink as second pick went to the Los Angeles Sparks. Cardoso and Reese were both drafted to Chicago Sky.
It is no secret that the 2023-24 season of women’s college basketball has changed how the sport will be viewed forever. Many great names have brought well-deserved attention and support to women’s college basketball from all across the world. As many of these names become part of the WNBA, professional women’s basketball is set to receive its recognition as well. This new dynasty has been an inspiration to millions, young and old, boys and girls, and leveled the playing field for attention between men’s and women’s college basketball and beyond.
