March Madness is a highly anticipated tournament every year; for this article, we will review the NCAA Women’s March Madness, specifically the Final Four teams. With all the great teams in the tournament, the FinalFour4 teams consist of: Iowa Hawkeyes, Uconn Huskies, NC State Wolves, and South Carolina Gamecocks.
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes have brought a tremendous amount of attention to Women’s Basketball because of their star player Caitlin Clark. Caitlin is also the #1 overall 2024 WNBA draft pick. This season has been one of Iowa’s most successful seasons to date with a record of 33 wins and only 4 losses. Iowa has been a very successful team these past years but specifically the past 2 years. The past 2 years they have made it to the Final Four each time. Last year, they made it all the way to the championship but sadly ended in a 102-85 point loss against LSU. This year, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the LSU Tigers with a score of 94-84. The Iowa Hawkeyes is a team made up of talented players, the star being Caitlin Clark; she made history this year. On March 3, 2024, Caitlin broke one of the biggest collegiate records during their game against Ohio State. Caitlin broke the record for the NCAA Division 1 all time leading scorer across Men’s and Women’s basketball. She has also won the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year, John R. Wooden award, and last but not least, the Best Female College Athlete ESPY award. Caitlin doesn’t take the credit; she always says, “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and family all supporting me”. Iowa has done so much to prepare for this tournament and it shows so far everything seems to have been working out in their favor.
UConn Huskies
UConn is one of the most successful college basketball teams in the nation. UConn has had a relatively good season, ending with a record of 33 wins and 6 losses. UConn has the most D1 college basketball titles of any school, totaling 11 titles. UConn has sent more women to the WNBA than any other college. Since UConn is a very well-bonded team and works so well together, they don’t have just one player that stands out like Iowa. If you had to pick their best players, they would definitely be Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards. They have been significant contributors this season for UConn, with Paige Bueckers averaging 28 points and Aaliyah Edwards averaging 17.6. Aaliyah Edwards, who plays as a forward, has stated on her Instagram that she will not be forgoing her extra year of eligibility and instead will be declaring for the WNBA draft. Paige Bueckers has had her eyes on UConn since high school, but not nearly as much as she has now. Paige gained significant attention during her freshman year at UConn due to her impressive performance and numerous accolades. She won many titles as a freshman, including the Major National Women’s Player of the Year award, AP Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year, and the John R. Wooden Award. Paige also set the program record for assists by a freshman and single-game assists. Unlike Aaliyah Edwards, Paige announced during UConn’s senior night that she will be returning to UConn for another season with coach Geno Auriemma.
NC State Wolves
North Carolina has had one of its best seasons yet, finishing with a record of 31 wins and 7 losses. The team has only been to the Final Four a handful of times, but they have never won the championship. The last time North Carolina was in the Final Four was in 1998. The team has a very good roster, but most players are in their fifth year of college basketball, so they won’t be with the team any longer. However, North Carolina does have one standout individual player: Aziaha James. Aziaha, currently a junior at NC State, is averaging about 16.8 points per game. After North Carolina’s successful win against Texas, which ended with a score of 76-66, a good amount of those points came from Aziaha James. She scored 27 points in that game, nearly matching her career-high of 33 points. Since she is only a junior, we haven’t heard much about whether she wants to go to the WNBA after college or what her plans are. Nevertheless, Aziaha James is definitely a player who deserves more attention.
South Carolina Gamecocks
The South Carolina Gamecocks are an exceptional team. This year, they went undefeated with a record of 38 wins and 0 losses. South Carolina has won 4 NCAA championships, all of which were led by coach Dawn Staley. The team was very open about how hard they worked this season to reach their full potential, and it paid off. All that hard work and long practices helped them reach the Final Four and win the NCAA championship. Since South Carolina is such a strong team, they don’t only have just one player that stands out; instead, they have many. One player who was recognized for her outstanding game performance is Kamilla Cardoso. Kamilla Cardoso, a 6’7 center for the South Carolina Gamecocks, has been outstanding this year due to her ability to get to the rim and finish through tough contact. This year, Kamilla has been averaging 17 points and 9.3 rebounds. Kamilla has said that she feels ready to take the next step after college basketball and declare for the WNBA 2024 draft.
This year, Women’s College Basketball has gained more attention than ever before, thanks to the talent that these players are bringing to the game. The popularity of Women’s Basketball increased by about 37% this year alone, and the championship had more than 24 million viewers across ESPN and ABC. With Women’s College Basketball gaining so much recognition, the future for the sport looks very promising, especially considering that some of the top players are declaring for the WNBA 2024 draft.
Work Cited:
ESPN Internet Ventures. (n.d.). Women’s college basketball . ESPN. https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/
NCAA.com. (2024, April 14). NCAA college women’s basketball. https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d1
