The buzz surrounding the Iowa-LSU women’s basketball game goes much further than ratings and viewership. The matchup showcased some of the brightest stars in the sport: Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Khayla Pointer. The two were locked in a back-and-forth battle throughout the course of the game, and even though Iowa ultimately fell short to LSU in the championship, Clark rose to the occasion, delivering a passionate and determined performance that put her in a favored spot for the 2021 WNBA Draft.
Known for her long range shooting, Clark put on a show in the semifinal game against South Carolina, and followed that up with a masterful performance against LSU. Her thunderous dunk late in the game gained fan and media attention, pushing her into the spotlight of the nation’s top collegiate player.
ESPN was a big winner in this epic matchup, with the viewership and ratings rivaling that of major professional sports. The success of the women’s game speaks to the continuously growing appeal of women’s basketball, providing a source of entertainment and inspiration for fans young and old.
The NCAA stands to benefit greatly from the success of the Iowa-LSU game, as the future of women’s basketball appears brighter than ever. With the fall of both the Big 10 and the SEC into the same bracket, the NCAA was able to capitalize on the natural basketball rivalry between the two conferences, drawing massive amounts of eyes from around the country. This newfound attention will hopefully lead to increased support of women’s basketball as a whole, which would in turn lead to additional revenue for universities, conferences, and the NCAA itself.
Lastly, the Iowa-LSU matchup highlighted an important shift in the basketball landscape: the emergence of the female star athlete. In Clark, Pointer, and others, the game pushed the narrative forward that women’s basketball deserves the same elevated attention leveraged to the men’s game. Of course, many female athletes have played a prominent role in the sport of basketball as well,but the Iowa vs LSU game highlighted the potential of the female athlete’s reach and talent, further elevating women’s basketball in the public eye.
The Iowa-LSU women’s basketball game will no doubt go down in history as one of the greatest college matchups of all time. Though the team from Iowa fell short of the title, the game pushed forward women’s basketball as a whole, and provided fans everywhere with a source of entertainment and inspiration.
