South Carolina Claims NCAA Championship Over Iowa

CLEVELAND -- A year after a stunning Final Four defeat that ended what could have been a perfect season and national championship run, the South Carolina Gamecocks finished the job Sunday in historic fashion.

Behind an 87-75 decision over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the women's NCAA tournament title game, South Carolina became the 10th team in Division I history to complete an undefeated season (38-0), joining UConn (six times), Baylor (2011-12), Tennessee (1997-98) and Texas (1985-86) as the only programs to achieve such a feat.

With a third national title in seven tournaments and second in three seasons, South Carolina tied Baylor and Stanford for the third-most championships all-time and cemented its status as women's college basketball's latest dynasty.

Coach Dawn Staley -- a former two-time player of the year who played in three Final Fours but missed out on a championship herself -- now becomes the fifth head coach to win at least three national titles.

The Gamecocks got the job done by knocking off Caitlin Clark, next week's presumptive No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick, who ends her collegiate career with the most points in Division I men's or women's history with 3,951.

Iowa, which beat South Carolina in the national semifinal last year before losing to the LSU Tigers in the title game, fell short once more of its program-first national championship.

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