Women’s March Madness has arrived at the Final Four, with two intriguing matchups ready to play out to determine who will compete for the national championship.
Both games feature a No. 1 seed and a No. 3 seed, but each team’s journey to Cleveland has looked vastly different.
One team continues to be undefeated, one team is seen as the ultimate underdog, one team got its revenge and one wants to prove it is still a blue blood.
The semis are Friday, with the championship set for Sunday. Here’s a look at what’s in store:
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 3 N.C. State (Friday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Season so far: South Carolina had an undefeated season on their way to being crowned SEC tournament champ, carrying a 36-0 record into the Final Four. They handily defeated Presbyterian and North Carolina in the first two rounds of the tournament before a narrow four-point win over Indiana in the Sweet 16. They comfortably defeated Oregon State 70-58 to advance to their fourth straight Final Four.
As for N.C. State, they not only first took down No. 2 Stanford, but their win over No. 1 Texas sent the Wolfpack to their second-ever Final Four. The Wolfpack fell to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament final, but are 31-6 this season.
X-factor: Senior centre Kamilla Cardoso has declared for the WNBA Draft and will want to leave the Gamecocks with a banner, and has been a key player in the paint. She is averaging 14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and South Carolina is the top rebounding team in the Final Four with 46.2 per game on average.
Aziaha James is the Wolfpack’s leading scorer averaging 16.7 points per game, and had an outstanding performance against Texas with 27 points, six rebounds and four assists, shooting 7-of-9 from the three-point line.
Player to watch: Raven Johnson has stepped up for the Gamecocks this season, including a massive performance against Indiana going 3-of-3 from deep and tallying 14 points in a tight match-up. Averaging 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists, Johnson has earned the trust of coach Dawn Staley.
Former Gamecock Saniya Rivers will play her old team on Friday, a first-team All-ACC player this season after averaging 12.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 34 games, starting all of them. She tallied 11 points, five rebounds and five assists against Texas.
No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 3 UConn (Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT)
Season so far: The Hawkeyes are 33-4, winning their third straight Big Ten title, and maybe more importantly are coming off a win over defending champion LSU, who beat Iowa in the 2023 final.
The Huskies are 33-5, capturing their fourth consecutive Big East title and winning a close encounter with USC to make the Final Four after missing last year, which ended a streak of 14 straight appearances.
X-factor: Yes, obviously Iowa’s X-factor is Caitlin Clark, and her game against LSU proved exactly why she should be. She wasn’t going to let 2023 play out again, and dropped 41 points, including nine three-pointers after going just 3-of-11 against Colorado. She also proved what an elite passer she is, adding 12 assists in the win over the Tigers.
As for UConn, it’s wild to think where they could’ve been if they weren’t robbed of essentially two seasons of Paige Bueckers. Luckily for the Huskies, she will be returning next year, but her current post-season run has seen her average 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists and 3.3 steals per game. She shot 50 per cent from the three-point line against USC when she dropped a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Player to watch: Fifth-year senior Kate Martin is having her best season yet for the Hawkeyes, and is averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the tournament. Not only is she the secondary scoring threat behind Clark, proving the Hawkeyes aren’t just one-dimensional, but also can guard nearly anyone on the floor, guards or bigs in the paint.
Not that anyone needs to be told to watch Aaliyah Edwards, but the Kingston, Ont. native is putting WNBA teams on notice ahead of the draft as the UConn forward is tallying 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this tournament, including a massive 24 points against USC. Edwards recorded two double-doubles to start the tournament, and will also be relied on for her interior defence.
from Sportsnet.ca
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