Women's Final Four: What to know before Iowa-South Carolina national championship game
CLEVELAND — One of the most anticipated national championship games in women's college basketball history will be played Sunday when Iowa faces South Carolina at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Gamecocks (37-0) will try to finish unbeaten. They are also looking to avenge a loss to the Hawkeyes in last year's national semifinals.
Iowa (34-4) is looking to win its first national title.
Tip-off time is 3 p.m. on ABC. Here are some things to know ahead of Sunday's title game.
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Iowa probable starters
No. 22 Caitlin Clark, 6-0, Sr., guard
No. 24 Gabbie Marshall, 5-9, Sr., guard
No. 3 Sydney Affolter, 5-11, Jr., guard
No. 20 Katie Martin, 6-0, Sr., guard
No. 45 Hannah Stuelke, 6-2, Soph., forward
South Carolina probable starters
No. 0 Te-Hina Paopao, 5-9, Sr., guard
No. 23 Bree Hall, 6-0, Jr., guard
No. 25 Raven Johnson, 5-9, So., guard
No. 21 Chloe Kitts, 6-2, So., forward
No. 10 Kamillia Cardoso, 6-7, Sr., center
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How did Iowa get here?
The Hawkeyes beat Holy Cross 91-65, West Virginia 64-54, Colorado 89-68 and defending national champion LSU 94-87 to reach the Final Four. They rallied from a 12-point second-quarter deficit to edge Connecticut 71-69 in Friday's national semifinal.
How did South Carolina get here?
The Gamecocks defeated Presbyterian 91-59, North Carolina 88-41, Indiana 79-75 and Oregon State 70-58 to make it to Cleveland. They pulled away in the third quarter to beat North Carolina State 78-59 in Friday's national semifinal.
Curtain falls on Caitlin Clark's college career
Win or lose, it will be the end of an era for a player who has become the face of women's college basketball.
Two-time national player of the year Caitlin Clark is set to play her final game with the Hawkeyes. The player who has helped sell out all 39 Iowa games this season enters with an all-time collegiate record 3,921 points.
Clark will be the first NCAA Division I player to finish with over 3,900 points, 1,000 assists and 950 rebounds in a career. She is the only player to lead her conference in scoring and assists four straight seasons.
Long-term tandem of Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin wrapping up
Clark and guard Kate Martin will start in their 139th straight game together on Sunday. It is the longest streak of any Division I tandem in the last 25 years.
Martin ranks third on the team in scoring at 13.0 points a game.
"If you don't have Kate Martin, we're not in this position," Clark said. "I don't know where our season ends, but we're not right here. That's how much she brings to our team."
Hawkeyes hope to end Big Ten title drought
The Big Ten has not had a women's national champion since 1999 when Purdue beat Duke. Current Big Ten member Maryland won the title in 2006 when the Terrapins played in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Since Purdue's title, the Boilermakers (2001), Michigan State (2005) and Iowa (2023) have been national runners-up.
Iowa's Sydney Affolter stepping up in Molly Davis' spot
The Hawkeyes have been without Molly Davis throughout the NCAA Tournament. The fifth-year guard is out with an injury suffered in the final regular-season game against Ohio State.
Sydney Affolter has given Iowa a big lift in Davis' absence. She is averaging 12.1 points in the eight games.
"She's playing exceptional basketball," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "She was before, but now she has this unbelievable opportunity, and she has just risen to the occasion. Some people might not do that."
Bluder said she would love to get Davis on the floor "for a couple of seconds" against South Carolina.
"She deserves it," Bluder said. "My heart breaks for that kid."
Gamecocks trying to become 10th unbeaten national champion
A South Carolina win secures the Gamecocks a spot in an elite club. Coach Dawn Staley's team will try to become the 10th unbeaten national champion.
"We know it's not going to be easy," sophomore guard Raven Johnson said. "It is going to be hard. We need to be locked in and be in the moment."
Connecticut has been an unbeaten national champion six times, including twice in back-to-back years. The other unbeaten champions are Texas in 1985-86, Tennessee in 1997-98 and Baylor in 2011-12.
Kamilla Cardoso helping Gamecocks own the paint
If South Carolina starts dominating inside, look out.
The Gamecocks are outscoring their opponents in the paint by an average of 20.0 points in the NCAA Tournament. They had a 30-point advantage in their regional final victory over Oregon State and a 24-point advantage in Friday's national semifinal win over Connecticut.
All-America center Kamilla Cardoso is a big reason why South Carolina is dominating inside. She is averaging 17.0 points on 68.2% shooting in the tournament.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: What to know before Iowa-South Carolina NCAA women's title game
