Cleveland -- The goal of redemption led to perfection for South Carolina's women's basketball team. Confetti fell on the Gamecocks after freshman Tessa Johnson scored a career-high 19 points to power South Carolina to an 87-75 victory over fellow No. 1 seed Iowa in the national championship game on Sunday in a sold-out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. It is a triumph that avenges the loss the Gamecocks suffered to the Hawkeyes in last season's national semifinals. That game was the last time South Carolina endured a defeat, having capped off this season 38-0. It makes the Gamecocks the first undefeated champions in women's college basketball since UConn's 2015-16 team. South Carolina is the 10th team to complete an unbeaten season and the fifth program to do so, joining the Huskies, Baylor, Tennessee and Texas. "I'm super excited to share this moment with our team"
Everything to know about the April 8 eclipse in Atlantic Canada | SaltWire #eclipse | SaltWireCLEVELAND -- The goal of redemption led to perfection for South Carolina 's women's basketball team.
Johnson -- who did not start -- shot 7-of-11 from the floor and also had four rebounds in 25 minutes. South Carolina also got two double-doubles from frontcourt players: Kamilla Cardoso's 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds, and Chloe Kitts' 11 points and 10 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao provided 14 points for the Gamecocks.
Iowa is still a program without a title after falling in the championship bout for the second consecutive season. The result marks the end of the career of superstar guard Caitlin Clark -- the all-time leading scorer for all of Division I college basketball -- who finished her final game in a Hawkeyes uniform with 30 points on 10-of-28 shooting along with eight rebounds and five assists.
"I was ready for the moment. And I take defense very hard, like I take it to heart. I studied her moves, and I was ready," Raven Johnson said of her defense on Clark."I had confidence this year. I was telling myself last year's not going to happen again." South Carolina won the rebounding battle 51-29 and outscored Iowa 30-16 on second chances. And the Gamecocks got 37 points from their bench, while the Hawkeyes received zero scoring production from players that didn't start. Simply put, South Carolina was bigger and deeper than Iowa.
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