South Carolina joins elite company. These teams went undefeated, won national title
The Gamecocks spun a season of perfection, capped Sunday with a third national championship after defeating the Hawkeyes.
South Carolina, which entered the women's NCAA Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed, marched through March Madness with what looked like relative ease. Dawn Staley's players had not lost since the Hawkeyes beat them in last year’s Final Four, and the Gamecocks were winning by nearly 30 points a game.
Kamilla Cardoso anchored the offense and defense and will be among the top five picks in the WNBA Draft on April 15.
Who did South Carolina beat en route to the championship?
The Gamecocks join nine other teams to run the table since the advent of the women's NCAA Tournament in 1982. This includes regular season and postseason games.
def. Presbyterian, 91-39
def. North Carolina, 88-41
def. Indiana, 79-75
def. Oregon State, 70-58
def. NC State, 78-59
def. Iowa 87-75
What women's college basketball teams have gone undefeated?
1986: Texas Longhorns (34–0)
1995: UConn Huskies (35–0)
1998: Tennessee Lady Vols (39–0)
2002: UConn Huskies (39–0)
2009: UConn Huskies (39–0)
2010: UConn Huskies (39–0)
2012: Baylor Lady Bears (40–0)
2014: UConn Huskies (40–0)
2016: UConn Huskies (38–0)
2024: South Carolina Gamecocks (38-0)
Texas 1986 national championship team
The Longhorns were the first team to notch a perfect season, beating Southern California 97-81 in the NCAA Tournament final. Texas, then playing in the Southwest Conference, had a deep bench but also had been through its share of injury trouble. Cheryl Miller, who had led the Trojans to back-to-back national titles in 1983-84, scored just 16 points, none in the second half. It was Clarissa Davis, coming off the bench to score 25 points, who boosted the Longhorns. Davis won most outstanding player honors.
UConn 1995 national championship team
Connecticut captured its first title in 1995, beating Tennessee, 70-64, under head coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies' 35-0 finish was their first of six undefeated seasons. The team was led by Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo, who averaged 17.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. She went on to be an All-Star in the WNBA and won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA a year later. Point guard Jennifer Rizzotti tallied 12.5 points and 4.6 assists per outing that season and, after winning the championship, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, "Perfect!"
Tennessee 1998 national championship team
Tennessee and Louisiana Tech opened the season ranked No. 1 and No. 2. And that's how they finished it. Tennessee, led by Tamika Catchings (27 points) and Chamique Holdsclaw (25 points) never struggled, leading 55-32, the most points scored in a half at that point in an NCAA title game. Kellie Jolly's back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half ended any hopes Louisiana Tech had, and the Lady Vols won 93-75. They finished 39-0.
UConn 2002 national championship team
After being knocked out of the 2001 Final Four by Notre Dame, Geno Auriemma stormed right back to the Big Dance and kicked off a three-peat championship run. The first year of the streak, 2002, the Huskies beat Oklahoma, 82-70, to win their third title with a 39-0 finish. Swin Cash was named the Final Four's most outstanding player after putting up 20 points and 13 rebounds in the finale. Sue Bird was the national player of the year after averaging 14.4 points per game and 5.9 assists. She was then the No. 1 overall pick by the Seattle Storm and went on to win four WNBA championships.
UConn 2009 national championship team
Connecticut's 2009 national championship team was among the program's most dominant. They won each of their 39 games by double digits and finished another season undefeated. They returned to the national championship game and beat Louisville 76-54 after being knocked out of the Final Four the year prior. Junior Tina Charles was the star of the season and had 25 points and 19 rebounds in the title game. She was named the Final Four most outstanding player. Sophomore Maya Moore added 18 points and nine rebounds in the final matchup and became the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 points when she did so in 55 games.
UConn 2010 national championship team
The Huskies won back-to-back titles yet again when they captured the 2010 championship. And it was another 39-0 undefeated season. Connecticut beat Stanford 53-47 for its seventh crown. Maya Moore had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the game. A most outstanding player title capped off her junior season where she averaged 18.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per outing. Moore would reach the Final Four again the next year, but fall short of a third national championship, before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She won four WNBA championships before leaving basketball to pursue social justice.
Baylor 2012 national championship team
Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears became the first team - men's or women's - to go 40-0. Coach Kim Mulkey and the Bears dispatched Stanford in the Final Four, advancing to meet Notre Dame in the championship game. Griner, who also was named player of the year, scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to boost the Bears over the Fighting Irish 80-61.
UConn 2014 national championship team
The Huskies served up another repeat championship in 2014 by beating Notre Dame, 79-58, to finish a perfect 40-0. Breanna Stewart concluded her sophomore season with another most outstanding player nod with 21 points and nine rebounds in the title game after leading the team with 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game. Stefanie Dolson added 17 points and 16 boards in the finale. Junior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis suffered an elbow injury early in the season, but came back to record Connecticut's third triple-double − and the program's first in NCAA tournament play − when she notched 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a second-round victory over St. Joseph's.
UConn 2016 national championship team
Connecticut's four-peat dynasty ended with the 2016 national championship when the Huskies defeated Syracuse, 82-51. Their utterly commanding reign concluded with their last perfect season, a 38-0 record. The victory gave the school 75 straight wins, all by double digits. Breanna Stewart concluded her historic career as a member of the Huskies with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the title game. She was the only player in college basketball history to be named the Final Four most outstanding player four times. She led the team with 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Her 2,676 career points were second in Connecticut history. Stewart was the No. 1 overall pick by the Seattle Storm in the 2016 WNBA draft. She won two championships, was named league MVP twice and was the first woman to have a signature shoe in more than a decade.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women's March Madness: South Carolina is undefeated, national champion
