CLEVELAND – Bring out the trophy and let the confetti fall.

South Carolina women's basketball is the undefeated national champion.

The No. 1 seeded Gamecocks (38-0) became the 10th team to win an NCAA title without losing a game, beating No. 1 seed Iowa 87-75 on Sunday to claim the third championship in program history.

South Carolina outlasted 30 points from Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who broke the career NCAA Tournament scoring record during the game. After a full year of planning their revenge tour, the Gamecocks completed it by avenging their loss to the Hawkeyes (34-5) in the Final Four.

With the win, coach Dawn Staley and South Carolina will raise another banner.

Freshman guard Tessa Johnson led the way on offense with 19 points, while senior center Kamilla Cardoso tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds in her final game with the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks stormed through the second quarter, outscoring the Hawkeyes by 10 points and flipping a deficit into a three-point lead at the break. After Iowa took a lead with less than a minute left in the half, senior guard Te-Hina Paopao drained a 3-pointer and sophomore guard Raven Johnson stole the ball and converted a fastbreak layup to end the half.

South Carolina found themselves in a hole early, down 11 points in the first quarter in one of its largest deficits of the season. After a timeout halfway through the quarter, the Gamecocks chipped the lead back to two points.

Iowa took a 27-20 lead into the second quarter, however, behind a tournament-record 18 first quarter points.

South Carolina takes over in middle quarters

After Iowa dominated for most of the early portion of the game, it was South Carolina's turn to counter. Its punch lifted it to a halftime advantage and into the third quarter.

The Gamecocks outscored the Hawkeyes by 16 points in the second and third quarters, thanks to vastly improved shooting and much better defense. Clark only scored seven points and the Gamecocks shot 6-of-12 from 3-point range in those quarters.

Caitlin Clark's first quarter shooting sets records

Clark was the story in the first quarter, scoring a tournament-record 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

The Gamecocks didn't have an answer for Clark in the first quarter as she drained several shots from deep to help Iowa build a quick lead. South Carolina slowed her down in the second quarter, allowing just three points.

Evan Gerike covers South Carolina women's basketball for the Greenville News. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina beats Iowa in NCAA final for undefeated championship