Women’s Basketball Superstars Day: A rematch of last year’s record-breaking national championship game featuring two of the game’s biggest stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
There is no other accurate way to describe the level of anticipation heading into the Iowa-LSU Elite Eight matchup, a rematch of last year’s record-breaking national championship game featuring two of the game’s biggest stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. But that’s not all that’s happening. JuJu Watkins and USC will take on Paige Bueckers and UC Portland for the nightcap.
Four superstars. Next in line are the last two berths. A day that went down in women’s basketball history.
“Pay attention to the crowd,” USC head coach Lindsey Gottlieb said. “This will ruin everything.”
While both games will air on ESPN rather than ABC, it’s likely that at least one — cough, Iowa vs. LSU — will break the viewership record for a game not in the Women’s NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. Iowa’s second-round win over West Virginia last weekend broke the previous record (set two days earlier in the Hawkeyes’ first-round win over Holy Cross) with an average of 4.9 million viewers. You can make a strong argument that Monday’s rematch is the most anticipated game in women’s basketball since the 2004 UConn-Tennessee championship game. At least this is the most anticipated women’s fight since last year.
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As we all know, the last time Clark and Reese came face to face was watched by 9.9 million viewers. So yes, people will be interested in a rematch. But they should stay tuned to see stars in the second half of the doubleheader as well.
As a freshman in 2020-21, Bueckers earned National Player of the Year honors. He then suffered a knee injury that kept him out for two months the following season, as well as an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for the entire 2022–23 season. Now she’s healthy (although many others on her team are!), back in top form, and taking on this year’s freshman sensation in Watkins. They’ll likely share the top spot as the game’s biggest stars next season.
“Star power drives stories in athletics,” Gottlieb said. “That’s why there were a lot of faces in the NBA, starting with Magic (Johnson) and Larry (Bird) and then Michael Jordan.”
The 2023 championship match between Clark and Reese has similarities to the 1979 Magic-Bird men’s title match. It felt like a historic moment for the game, but a year later it’s probably more accurate to call it just the beginning. It introduced millions of people to some superstars and their trash talk, gave us new rivalries, and then brought all the key players back into the game for the next season. Then Bueckers returned from a knee injury and an incredibly talented freshman class emerged from Columbia, South Carolina. Appeared in places such as; South Bend, Indiana; and Austin, Texas. Even among such a talented crowd, Watkins stood out.
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“”Paige and JuJu had astonishing seasons and I had the option to look however much they could,” Clark said. “I’m exceptionally occupied, yet I like to incorporate them however much I can – particularly JuJu. What she was able to do for this program as a freshman and get them to the Elite Eight with a chance to make the Final Four, it’s unreal.” This is unheard of. He is very special.
“Women’s basketball fans know how special and wonderful this moment will be. I think the audience will show it. …Moreover, it’s great for our game. I’m lucky to be a part of this.”
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said one of the advantages of the women’s game over the men’s game is the lack of a one-on-one rule. Players have to wait until they graduate (or turn 22 in that season’s WNBA draft year) for fans to get to know them better. We see how these players grow before our eyes.
“These are kids who have been there three or four years and left their mark on their school and their sport,” he said. “It can feature what is conceivable assuming that everybody gets involved with it and sticks with it and develops with their group.”
Of course, Monday’s must-see doubleheader is missing one very famous coach and one very successful program: Don Staley and his undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. They’ve already punched their ticket to the Final Four in Cleveland by beating Oregon State on Sunday in Albany with third-seeded North Carolina State winning in Portland. There are only two teams left on the site in Albany – Iowa and LSU.
So nobody is discussing South Carolina on Monday, and Staley is fine with that.
“Go on, take the spotlight and put it elsewhere,” Staley said happily. “Keep on pushing ahead in the place that has been given to this group. Ideally by the day’s end, this time one week from now, I trust we’ll give a many individuals something to discuss.
“Now that we’ve won, I’ll pause for a moment or two and appreciate it like every other person. There will most likely be a great many individuals watching this game, and I will be one of them. “I don’t have Nielsen appraisals at home, however you can depend on me to watch this game.”