The perfect season doesn’t exi–
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy total eclipse Monday!
Even when Mother Nature literally blocks out the sun, no one can stop the shine of women’s college basketball. Another game-changing gals’ March Madness is in the books — smile because it happened.
— No. 1–seed South Carolina women’s basketball senior center Kamilla Cardoso on her one-of-one head coach (HC) Dawn Staley, who led the Gamecocks to a perfect 38-0 season capped by their third national championship yesterday. There’s nothin’ this Coach of the Year, women’s sports advocate, and trans athlete ally with immaculate drip and dance moves can’t do.
Women’s March Madness
🏆 Everybody’s hands go up
The GIST: As mentioned, the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks reached perfection with yesterday’s national championship title — and they did it with five new starters this season. Some “rebuilding year,” huh?
Championship game recap: Rallied by Caitlin Clark’s 18 first-quarter points (a title game record), No. 1 Iowa jumped out to a hot start, but HC Staley’s squad — buoyed by sophomore guard Raven Johnson’s lockdown defense on Clark — remained as calm as ever to gradually make the comeback.
- The aforementioned Cardoso — the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player —was another difference-maker, dominating the paint to post a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double.
- Freshman Tessa Johnson also impressed, coming off the bench to net a team-high 19 points — a testament to South Carolina’s incredible depth.
Looking ahead: The countdown is on to next Monday’s WNBA Draft, where some of the tourney’s brightest stars — including projected overall No. 1 pick Clark and Cardoso — will hear their names called in the first round. And as Staley said yesterday, there’s no doubt they’ll keep on changing the game at the pro level.
- As for the college court, despite rising parity, don’t be surprised if South Carolina runs it back next year with this young — and now incredibly experienced — core.
Zooming out: From Clark’s historic record chase to the tournament’s astounding viewership numbers, this season was all about the women’s game. It’s worth a reminder that this incredible growth comes just three years into the women’s tourney being allowed to use the March Madness branding.
- This is not a moment, it’s a movement — and it’s just beginning.
Men's March Madness
🏀 The last dance
The GIST: For all the parity-driven upsets that characterized the last two men’s basketball seasons, this year’s title game is all chalk: Two highly-decorated No. 1 seeds, the UConn Huskies and Purdue Boilermakers, will duke it out for the national trophy tonight at 9:20 p.m. ET on TBS.
Final Four recap: For a shot at tonight’s one shining moment, Purdue stole the glass slippers from this year’s Cinderella, No. 11 NC State, with Saturday’s 63–50 dub. Though far from the Boilermakers’ best — sloppy play caused 16 turnovers — they held NC State star center DJ Burns Jr. to just eight points, largely thanks to repeat Player of the Year Zach Edey.
- UConn, on the other hand, was a fine-tuned machine: Led by freshman guard Stephon Castle’s 21 points, all five starters scored in double-digits to beat No. 4 Alabama 86–72 on Saturday.
Tonight’s championship: Both teams are lethal from beyond the arc, so this one, like most of Purdue’s games, will come down to Edey. If center Donovan Clingan and the rest of UConn’s elite D can contain him, the Huskies will likely become the first back-to-back national champs since Florida in 2006–07.
- If not, it’ll be a sprint to the finish: Even an offense as dominant as UConn’s can’t afford to miss many shots against the Boilermakers. Any mistakes could see Purdue cap their redemption run with a program-first natty. Cue the music — it’s time for one last dance.
Together With The GIST
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⛳ Women’s golf
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur, held at the legendary home of the PGA’s Masters, came to an epic finish on Saturday: No. 19 Florida State sophomore Lottie Woad recorded birdies on three of her last four holes to claim the trophy over No. 9 USC freshman Bailey Shoemaker, who scored the best final round in the tourney’s history. Par-tee.
🤸 Women’s gymnastics
Regional finals wrapped yesterday, with eight teams advancing to April 18th’s national semifinals. With four qualifiers — No. 2–seed LSU, No. 4 Florida, No. 8 Alabama, and No. 10 Arkansas — the SEC makes up half the field, but it was the Pac-12’s unseeded Stanford who made the biggest splash by surviving yesterday’s the Berkeley Regional final to advance over No. 6 Denver.
- The men’s natty is also creeping closer: At 3 p.m. ET tomorrow, the selection committee will announce the 12 teams who will compete at their championship meet on April 19th and 20th. Flippin’ out.
🥎 Softball
No. 5 Texas has done the impossible: The Longhorns handed No. 1 Oklahoma, the threepeat champion powerhouse, their first conference series loss in 13 years (!!!) by defeating them 2–1 twice this weekend. It’s the first time Texas has hooked a series from the Sooners since 2009, and they can thank a phenomenal bullpen led by senior Estelle Czech for this historic Red River Rivalry rout.
🥍 Lacrosse
This weekend’s lacrosse fields belonged to the No. 1s: Northwestern’s top-ranked women crushed No. 2 Maryland 17–9 behind attackers Izzy Scane’s and Madison Taylor’s six goals apiece on Saturday, and the No. 1 men of Notre Dame doubled down on last year’s national championship with yesterday’s 15–12 win over No. 3 Duke. Make way for the top cheese.
Recs from our roster!
🕶️ What to wear to the beach
A pair of stylish, no-slip goodr sunglasses. And with prices starting at just $25, you can stock up for when you inevitably leave them in the sand. It’s called…thinking ahead.*
🌴 Where to relax
At the Couples Swept Away Resort in Negril, Jamaica. Enter this contest today for a chance to win a couples health and wellness retreat filled with delicious food, endless activities, and beautiful landscapes. Now, breathe.
🌍 Who’s channeling Hannah Montana
USC basketball freshman Bronny James, who’s grabbing the best of both worlds by entering the transfer portal and the NBA Draft. The biggest boost to his draft stock? His superstar teammate, of course.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Ready to rise and shine.Today's email was brought to you by Katie Kehoe Foster, Ruth Lenzen, Emma Fernandez, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Lindsay Jost and Isabella Troia. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Lisa Minutillo and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Lauren Tuiskula, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Dee Lab. Head of Content Ellen Hyslop.