Women's Final Four live updates: South Carolina, Iowa talk about title game matchup

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Women's Final Four live updates: South Carolina, Iowa talk about title game matchup

Chris Easterling and Mike Popovich, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Sat, Apr 6, 2024 ·

8 min read

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CLEVELAND — South Carolina and Iowa will allow their skills on the basketball court speak for them Sunday in the national championship game at the Women's Final Four . On Saturday, though, the Gamecocks and Hawkeyes just did some talking about the game that will determine the Division I women's college basketball champion.

The two finalists had yet another round of interview sessions with the media horde in Cleveland. South Carolina was the first to speak, some 13 hours after it wrapped up its 37th win without a loss this season by beating North Carolina State 78-59.

Iowa , fresh off a thrilling 71-69 win over Connecticut in Friday's second semifinal, stepped up to the microphone in the afternoon. The Hawkeyes carry a 34-4 record into their second consecutive national title game, looking to replicate the feat they did a year ago when they beat the Gamecocks in the semifinals.

Follow along here throughout the day for updates on what the last two teams standing in women's college basketball give their thoughts about the upcoming championship game.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) leaves the court after the Hawkeyes defeated Connecticut in Friday's national semifinal at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Iowa 's Caitlin Clark 'doesn't want this to end'

Win or lose, Sunday will be the final game of guard Caitlin Clark's amazing Iowa career. That leaves women's college basketball's career scoring leader with some mixed emotions.

"I don't want this to end, whether it's with a win or with a loss," Clark said. "I think the biggest thing is you have that little fire inside of you. It's been the same throughout my entire career. I've had some tough losses, and I think those are the moments that have prepared me for right now for this opportunity."

Clark admits she really wasn't upset that Iowa lost last year's national championship game to LSU . In her eyes, the Tigers deserved to win.

The journey to reach back-to-back Final Fours is what Clark will always remember.

"At the end of the day, it's a game of basketball, Clark said. "You give it everything you've got, but I have a lot of appreciation for the way our team has carried ourselves and all the stuff that we've established.

"We're going to give it everything we can to be able to go out there and hoist the trophy tomorrow."

Iowa guard Sydney Affolter (3) drives to the basket as Connecticut forward Aaliyah Edwards (3) defends during Friday's national semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Who is Iowa's X-factor?

You probably know everything there is to know about Caitlin Clark by now. Iowa's hope of winning its first national title will depend a lot on how women's college basketball's career leader plays Sunday?

Who is Iowa's x-factor, though? Gabbie Marshall believes it's fellow guard Sydney Affolter .

"I think you're seeing how good of a player she is in our tournament, run" Marshall said. "She may not have gotten as many minutes as she would have liked the last couple of years, but she has never ever not worked hard. I have always seen her get shots up during off days. She is always giving it her all.

"She has so much confidence in herself. That has brought her a long way. She is finally getting the flowers she deserves. She has made some huge plays for us."

One of the biggest plays Affolter made at the Final Four came in the final seconds of Friday's 71-69 semifinal win over Connecticut. After Clark missed the second of two free throws with three seconds left, Affolter grabbed the offensive rebound. A jump ball giving Iowa possession helped the Hawkeyes run out the clock.

"That was huge," Marshall said. "She's just such a hard worker. She'll dive on the floor for loose balls. She's so tough. I think we need to play like her to step up."

What does all the love from a teammate like Marshall mean to Affolter?

"It's very special to hear that coming from one of my teammates, to see the hard work I do," she said. "I think anyone on this team could be an X-factor."

Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke (45) dribbles the ball against Connecticut in Friday's national semifinal game.

No sophomore slump for Iowa's Hannah Stuelke

You can't underestimate the impact sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke has made for the Hawkeyes this season.

Stuelke enters Sunday's game averaging 14.1 points, an increase of almost 8 points a game from last season. She scored 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting in the win over Connecticut. Earlier this season, Stuelke erupted for 47 points in a win over Penn State .

"I know what I'm capable of," Stuelke said. "My coaches and teammates have done a great job of instilling that confidence in me. Making sure I'm prepared mentally has been very important for me, too."

Women's Final Four brings South Carolina 's Bree Hall , Iowa's Gabbie Marshall back to Ohio

Two of the 10 starters in Sunday's title game will be making a homecoming of sorts. Both South Carolina's Bree Hall nor Iowa's Gabbie Marshall hail from the southwest portion of the state: Hall from Huber Heights Wayne High School; Marshall from Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame High School.

Still, playing in Cleveland allows both to at least finish their seasons in their home state. That's something Hall ua

"I very pumped and excited and I feel blessed to be able to play in front of my family," Hall said Saturday, "and not just my household family, but my extended family as well."

South Carolina's Dawn Staley: 'You got win a championship' to be the greatest

Former Connecticut legend Breanna Stewart was recently interviewed on Sirius/XM Radio and was asked about the conversation about the greatest women's college basketball player of all time. Stewart was a four-time national champion and four-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player during her time with the Huskies from 2013-16.

Specifically, Stewart was asked if Iowa star Caitlin Clark needed to a win a title to gain that status, even with the scoring record. The reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player was to the point: "Yeah, she does," she said.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley agreed with the assessment. She pointed to her own playing career, where she made three Finals Fours at the University of Virginia without a title.

"Yeah, I was really good in college, never won a championship," Staley said. "You got to win a championship. You've got to win a championship. That's me personally. Like I had a great career. But it's always, did you win a championship? Went to the Final Four three times. We never won. … If Caitlin wins the championship, she's pretty damn good, yeah, like, she's a GOAT. I mean, she's really damn good regardless. But winning the championship would seal the deal. I hope to the dear Lord she doesn't."

South Carolina's two approaches to remembering semifinal loss to Iowa

The Gamecocks and Hawkeyes met in last year's semifinal in Dallas. Like this season, South Carolina was going for an undefeated season and its third national championship.

It got neither, with a 77-73 loss to Iowa. That result has been handled in a couple of completely different ways by two members of the Gamecocks program.

Sophomore Raven Johnson scored 13 points in 29 minutes in last year's game. She is one of three South Carolina players this year who played in last year's game.

Johnson has taken the "can't let go of it" approach since then. She's even gone so far as to dub this the Gamecocks' revenge tour.

"More than a hundred times, probably," Johnson said, when asked about watching the game. "I mean, I remember watching it over and over and over. I probably was stressing myself out watching it. I don't even know why I was watching it. And the last time I watched it was probably last year. I stopped watching. I had to, they made me

Her head coach, Dawn Staley, has taken a much different approach.

"I haven't watched last year's game," Staley said. "So the focus is on this team this year."