Jermale Dabney 
After the South Carolina Gamecocks win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 Women’s National Championship, the amount of hype around the sport as a whole is at an all-time high.
The championship game itself set unbelievable records for viewership, averaging 18.7 million viewers (peaking at 24M viewers), the most-watched basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or pro) since 2019. It’s also the most-watched sporting event (not including football or the Olympics) since 2019.
And it’s no secret why: the talent in the game is better than ever before.
LSU star Angel Reese brought plenty of eyes to the game, averaging over 18 points and 13 rebounds during this past season. USC guard JuJu Watkins averaged 27 points for the Trojans this year and was crucial to their March Madness run. And of course, you can’t tell the story of women’s college basketball this year without the legend of Caitlin Clark, who arguably changed the way women’s basketball is played. She set NCAA records with her offensive talent, setting the Division I record for points, as well as winning AP Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
But of course, the main story revolves around the National Champion South Carolina Gamecocks, who steamrolled through college basketball, earning an unprecedented 38-0 undefeated record for the season. With that victory, head coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks have earned their third title in school history. And hopefully this is the first step toward women’s basketball (both college and pro) becoming more mainstream.
By Jermale Dabney, Junior, Lindblom Math and Science Academy
Instagram: @jermale_d
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