Iowa vs. South Carolina final score, results: Caitlin Clark pushes Hawkeyes to first national title game

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Caitlin Clark launched the ball to the heavens, unable to contain her joy. To her left was a rowdy gang of yellow-clad Iowa supporters, to her right her delirious teammates. She could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Clark was everything the Hawkeyes needed and then some, carrying the baton as Iowa punched its ticket to its first national championship game. The National Player of the Year poured in 41 points on 15-of-31 shooting to carry the Hawkeyes past reigning national champion South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four.

MORE: Clark ties NCAA 3-point record on same night Georgia Amoore sets it

Iowa will face LSU for the crown Sunday afternoon. The Tigers defeated Virginia Tech in the first game of the night. 

MORE: Patrick Mahomes, Candace Parker and more react to Caitlin Clark's performance

Iowa's spindly sorceress didn't do it all on her own. She got plenty of support from her supporting cast, namely center Monika Czinano, who was a deterrent for Aliyah Boston on one end of the court and a willing battery mate as Clark slalomed through pick-and-rolls on the other.

MORE: Clark taunts South Carolina in Final Four by leaving player alone at 3-point line

Czinano dropped 18 points to take the load off of her teammate. Some timely buckets from McKenna Warnock and Kate Martin also helped lessen the burden.

But Clark lived up to her billing, digging deep into her bag of tricks to mystify the Gamecocks' defense. Stepback? Easy. Hesitation and blow-by? No problem. No-look dime on the fast break? Of course.

MORE: Full list of men's, women's basketball teams to finish perfect seasons

The last game of the women's Final Four was a spectacle. And Clark was its biggest act, swirling through traffic for lofted layups on some plays, rocketing wet 3s through the nylon on others.

MORE: Aliyah Boston still undecided on declaring for 2023 WNBA Draft

In all, it was a masterful display. And it carried the Hawkeyes one step closer to something that seemed far from possible before Clark walked onto campus: a national championship.

MORE: Watch the national championship game with Sling TV

The Sporting News tracked live updates from Friday's Final Four clash between 2-seed Iowa and 1-seed South Carolina. Below are the highlights and live results from all the action in Dallas.

Iowa vs. South Carolina score

  1 2 3 4 F
Iowa 22 16 21 18 77
South Carolina 13 24 18 18 73

Iowa vs. South Carolina score live updates, highlights from 2023 Women's March Madness

(All times Eastern)

Final score: Iowa 77, South Carolina 73

11:48 p.m.: Boston's three clanks out! Iowa's going to the national championship game for the first time in its history!

11:46 p.m.: Foul game now for South Carolina. Clark looking to seal a shock victory at the charity stripe. She sinks both, pushing her to 41 on the day. What a performance. Hawkeyes up four. Iowa 77, South Carolina 73

11:40 p.m.: Clark to the rack! What a drive by the All-American. Iowa back up by four. Cooke responds with a layup through traffic to snip that Hawkeyes edge back to two. 35 seconds left.

11:34 p.m.: Been a bit of a cold stretch for both sides. Hawkeyes strapping up defensively, but not finding much success with the ball in their hands. 1:42 left, Iowa up three. South Carolina going to get the ball under the basket. I'm on the edge of my seat.

11:29 p.m.: Another massive three by Johnson! That's her third in the second half. Keeping the Gamecocks in it! Iowa's lead down to one.

11:16 p.m.: Clark is en fuego! Back-to-back threes as the Hawkeyes lead swings back to five. What a game! Iowa 67, South Carolina 64

11:15 p.m.: Another huge three by Johnson! Is she finding her groove?

End of third quarter: Iowa 59, South Carolina 55

11:09 p.m.: Czinano has been excellent today. Finishes the third with a sumptuous hook shot of the glass, pushing Iowa's lead to four. She's got 16 — including each of the last six for the Hawkeyes.

11:07 p.m.: Big three by Raven Johnson, who takes advantage of Clark playing off of her to sink her first three of the game. If she can get more involved in the offense, it would take a lot of pressure of Cooke, Cardoso and Boston.

11:01 p.m.: AND-ONE! It's Cardoso again. The 6-foot-7 big is putting on a clinic in the paint, corralling rebounds and going up strong off the glass.

10:57 p.m.: It must be said; the Hawkeyes' supporting cast has been excellent. Timely shot-making, impressive execution on sets. It's been a wonder to watch. McKenna Warnock whets the nylon from deep as Iowa opens up a six-point lead on the Gamecocks. Iowa 51, South Carolina 45

10:51 p.m.: Clark showing off her skills off the dribble, scooping two layups to open up the third frame. Electric start for the Hawkeyes.

Halftime: Iowa 38, South Carolina 37

10:33 p.m.: Iowa's three-pointer falls just short. However, the Hawkeyes will leave the floor with the one-point lead. It's the Clark and Cookie show so far; Clark has 19 points and six assists on 7-of-12 shooting, while Cooke has 18 points and five assists while going 8-of-13 from the field. This one is looking like a classic.

10:25 p.m.: USC takes the lead! It's Amihere again, this time showing off some fancy footwork on the block.

10:22 p.m.: AND-ONE! Laeticia Amihere finishes through contact, South Carolina can't make a three, but their dominance in the paint is starting to show. Iowa 31, South Carolina 20

10:15 p.m.: Another back-breaking Clark three brings Iowa's lead back to six. Something to look out for: she's also got two fouls. She's still out on the floor, though.

10:11 p.m.: Cooke is cooking, as expected. Really strong showing, especially given South Carolina's scoring challenges early. 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

End of first quarter: Iowa 22, South Carolina 13

10:04 p.m.: Strong showing thus far by the Hawkeyes and Clark, who head into the locker room with a 22-13 lead. National player of the year has been playing like it, pouring in 11 points (4-of-8 shooting) and four assists. Monika Czinano adds another six points as Iowa takes advantage of Boston's foul trouble and USC's shaky shooting to end the first quarter on top.

10:01 p.m.: Hawkeyes putting a big emphasis on letting the Gamecocks shoot. Literally leaving South Carolina's guards wide open from three. Offense is stagnating early.

9:58 p.m.: Big lineup for South Carolina. Whole lot of size. Camilla Cardoso snags a challenging entry pass and finishes with aplomb.

9:56 p.m.: Butter from Clark! She hits her first triple of the game as the Hawkeyes go up 11-6. Iowa really speeding the Gamecocks up, making it difficult for them to get into their sets. Entry passes to Boston are just a tad later than usual. Will be interesting to see how Dawn Staley adjusts. Iowa 11, South Carolina 6

9:53 p.m.: Clark already has her fingerprints all over the game. Four points and two assists to start, including an impressive blow-by and finish past Boston. Iowa has to be happy with its opening. Iowa 8, South Carolina 4

9:50 p.m.: Clark opens the scoring with a slick layup. Bit of a slow start early. Both sides feeling each other out. Iowa 4, South Carolina 0

9:47 p.m.: And we're off!. South Carolina's starters are as followed: Zia Cooke-Brea Beal-Victoria Saxton-Kierra Fletcher-Aliyah Boston

9:45 p.m.: No surprises in the Hawkeyes' starting five. Clark leads the way as Iowa looks to punch a ticket to its first ever national championship game.

9:35 p.m.: Pressure cooker heating up. Clark vs. Boston for a spot in the national championship; what could be better?

9:27 p.m.: Both teams out on the floor for shootaround. 20 minutes to go before tip off.

9:11 p.m.: LSU moves on! Winner of Iowa-USC will face the Tigers in the national championship. Tip-off for Friday night's final game is approximately 9:40 p.m. ET.

8:40 p.m.: Both teams look ready for war. Tip-off in about 25 minutes.

8:10 p.m.: BetMGM fancies South Carolina as the betting favorites, with the Gamecocks favored by 11.5 points ahead of Friday night's game.

What channel is Iowa vs. South Carolina on today?

  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: ESPN+, Sling TV

Iowa vs. South Carolina's Final Four clash will air on ESPN. Cord-cutters can find the game on ESPN+ and Sling TV.

Iowa vs. South Carolina start time

  • Date: Friday, March 31
  • Time: 9 p.m. ET

Iowa vs. South Carolina is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. ET at American Airlines Center in Dallas but likely will start later due to the LSU-Virginia Tech semifinal being played before this game. 

Women's March Madness schedule 2023

Final Four

Friday, March 31

Matchup Time (ET) TV
(3) LSU vs. (1) Virginia Tech 7 p.m. ESPN
(2) Iowa vs. (1) South Carolina 9 p.m. ESPN

National championship

Sunday, April 2

Matchup Time (ET) TV
TBD 3:30 p.m. ABC
Author(s)
David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News.