An undefeated South Carolina team led by star Aliyah Boston and coached by Dawn Staley, an Iowa team featuring high-scoring Caitlin Clark and LSU returnee and freshman coach Kim Mulkey are headed to the women’s Final Four this weekend.
Virginia Tech is the newcomer to the group as the Hokies are making their first appearance in the national semifinals. Hokies coach Kenny Brooks became the third black male coach in women’s basketball history to lead the team to the Final Four.
All of the world of women’s basketball will descend on Dallas this week as the Division I, II, and III championships are held there. This is only the second time that the title matches of all three divisions will be held at the same venue.
Staley and the Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th team to go unbeaten in a season and the first to repeat as champions since UConn won four in a row from 2013–16. South Carolina advanced to its third consecutive national semifinal and fifth since 2015 thanks to another stellar effort from Boston, who is the AP Player of the Year. The three-time All-American had 22 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Maryland on Monday night.
Iowa and the sensational Clark are there for the Gamecocks. He helped the Hawkeyes reach their first Final Four in 30 years with a game for the ages in the regional semifinals on Sunday night. The junior guard had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history in the win over Louisville.
The Gamecocks have experience with this group reaching the Final Four so many times. No one on Iowa’s roster was alive the last time the team stepped onto the sport’s biggest stage. C. Vivian Stringer was the coach of the 1993 team that reached the Final Four before losing to Ohio State in overtime.
Iowa coach Lisa Bludger said, “It’s like a storybook, but it’s been like that for us all year long.” “I mean, we have — honestly, we keep talking about destiny and how it’s supposed to happen and it’s happening. But I’m so happy for Kaitlyn. I love sitting in their living room and watching her Remember saying, I want to go to the Final Four. And I’m saying, we can do this together. And he believed in me. And so I’m very grateful for that.”
The second game would pit LSU against Virginia Tech. The Tigers are making their first trip to the national semifinals since 2008 when Sylvia Fowles dominated the paint. Now LSU is led by another stellar post player in Angel Reese.
She broke the record for double-doubles in a season earlier this year in fouls and played a key role in the Tigers’ win over Miami in the Elite Eight.
Reese, who transferred this season from Maryland, has made Mulkey’s second season at the school a special one. She came to LSU with a resume of three NCAA titles from her time at Baylor, as well as some flamboyant sidelines to her silver shimmering jacket with the white pants she wore to the Elite Eight game Sunday.
“What really makes me smile is not cleaving the net,” Mulkey said. “It’s just looking around at all those LSU guys, seeing that team, I’m experiencing it for the first time.”
LSU’s opponent is also making its first appearance in the Final Four. The Hawkeyes had their best season in school history, winning the ACC crown under Brooks’ leadership. He was joined by former Syracuse Quentin Hilsman and Cheney State’s Winthrop “Windy” McGriff.
The importance is not lost on Brooks, who hopes he can inspire other black male coaches to seek more opportunities.
The Hokies race into the national semifinals, led by star post-Elizabeth Kitley and sharpshooter Georgia Amur. The pair combined for 49 points in a win over Ohio State in the Elite Eight.