Daybreak Staley was bent over in tears making an attempt to replicate instantly after her South Carolina Gamecocks gained the third NCAA ladies’s basketball nationwide championship together with her in place as head coach.
However as she basked within the confetti falling from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse ceiling in Cleveland and lifted the nationwide championship trophy, Staley shouted out the Iowa Hawkeyes for an “unbelievable season” and took time to reward Caitlin Clark for all the things she’s executed for girls’s basketball.
“I need to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” Staley mentioned after the 87-75 win over Iowa on Sunday. “She carried a heavy load for our sport, and it isn’t going to cease right here on a collegiate tour. When she’s the No. 1 decide within the WNBA Draft, she’s going to elevate that league up as properly.
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Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes seems on through the second half of the NCAA Ladies’s Basketball Match Nationwide Championship recreation at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (Steph Chambers/Getty Pictures)
“So, Caitlin Clark, should you’re on the market, you might be one of many GOATs [greatest of all time] of our recreation, and we admire you.”
Whereas South Carolina was definitely one of many largest storylines all season lengthy in ladies’s basketball, as they capped their undefeated season to change into the tenth nationwide champion to ever accomplish that feat, Clark’s stardom skyrocketed with the Hawkeyes as she rewrote the NCAA record books.
SOUTH CAROLINA CAPS UNDEFEATED SEASON WITH NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WIN OVER IOWA
Clark is the all-time main scorer in each males’s and girls’s basketball, passing LSU’s Pete Maravich earlier this season. Along with her 30 factors scored within the loss to the Gamecocks, Clark completed her profession with 3,921 factors, whereas averaging 31.7 factors per recreation this season.
And as Staley talked about, Clark is anticipated to be the No. 1 total decide within the 2024 WNBA Draft.
“It is definitely been a particular 12 months, and to be sincere, after final 12 months I used to be like, ‘Effectively, how can we prime what we did final 12 months?’ … This 12 months was extra particular than final 12 months,” Clark mentioned after the sport.
Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes is proven through the NCAA Ladies’s Basketball Match Last 4 semifinal recreation towards the UConn Huskies at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Pictures by way of Getty Pictures)
Strain was an understatement for Clark this season because it got here properly past these in Iowa Metropolis at Carver-Hawkeye Area. The sports activities world was tuned into video games when she was on the courtroom as they watched the 30-foot three-pointers fall via the ring with ease and the crisp passes to her teammates.
Clark wasn’t capable of hoist the NCAA title trophy in the long run, although, regardless of the incredible season the Hawkeyes had. They began off rather well, happening a 10-0 run to start the sport, and Clark completed the primary quarter with 18 factors.
Nonetheless, she cooled off after that as South Carolina’s Raven Johnson performed incredible protection, holding her to 5-of-20 capturing.
Nonetheless, the loss for Clark and the Hawkeyes does not take away how profitable a season it was and personally how nice her profession has been.
Head coach Daybreak Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts through the second half of the NCAA Ladies’s Basketball Match Nationwide Championship recreation towards the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Pictures)
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Staley acknowledges that, and the WNBA will bear witness to her greatness subsequent.
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