Shots made by both teams kept the game close and the Gamecocks took a three-point lead into halftime after baskets by Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson.

The start of the fourth quarter saw South Carolina take a thirteen-point lead, shortly followed by three-pointers by Clark and Gabbie Marshall.

3 in the Associated Press (AP) preseason poll,[3] they won their first three games of the season, including a neutral site win over No.

[6][7] In Big Ten Conference play, the Hawkeyes defeated Michigan State 76–73 on a three-point buzzer beater[8] by Caitlin Clark and scored home victories over No.

[9][10] They finished 15–3 in the conference,[11] with those losses coming on the road to Ohio State and Indiana,[12][13] along with Nebraska, which rallied from 14 points down in the 4th quarter to send Iowa home with a defeat.

9 seed Princeton,[20] and Iowa defeated West Virginia by ten points in the second round to advance to the regional semifinal.

[32] The team completed a perfect 16–0 season in conference play, with only two games decided by a single-digit margin (9-point win at No.

Another made shot by Martin was followed by jumpers by Sydney Affolter and Caitlin Clark, giving Iowa a 10–0 lead to begin the game.

After two free throws by Martin, South Carolina scored on shots by Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson and narrowed Iowa' lead to two points.

The teams then traded baskets and South Carolina took a two-point lead with Cardoso's made layup with 4:58 remaining in the half.

[46] The Gamecocks began the second half with possession of the ball and extended their lead to nine points in short order with made shots by Kitts and Paopao; a Clark jump shot with 7:15 left marked Iowa's first points of the half and narrowed South Carolina's lead to 55–48.

Consecutive three-point shots by Johnson and Bree Hall extended the Gamecocks' advantage to ten points; after Martin made two free throws for Iowa, Johnson made another three-pointer to put her team ahead by eleven.

Leading 87–75, South Carolina was able to run the remaining time off of the clock and secure a national championship victory.

[49] Ryan Ruocco was the play-by-play commentator, Rebecca Lobo was the analyst, and Holly Rowe was the sideline reporter.

[50] ESPN presented Megacast coverage of the game, an alternate broadcast hosted by The Bird & Taurasi Show with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi on ESPN and ESPN+, and rail cam and data-enhanced ("Beyond the Rim") broadcasts on ESPN+.

[51] Nielsen ratings reported that the final was seen by 18.7 million viewers—the largest-ever audience for a women's basketball game in the United States, and an 89 percent year-over-increase over 2023.

[52][53][54] It was the third consecutive tournament game to break the record in a single week, following the Elite Eight match between Iowa and LSU on April 1 (which had drawn 12.3 million viewers) and the Final Four match between Iowa and UConn on April 5 (which had drawn 14.2 million viewers).

[57] It was the third title in South Carolina program history; the team had never advanced past the national semifinal round prior to Staley's arrival.

[58] The 2024 WNBA draft was held on April 17 and saw players from both teams selected: Clark was picked first overall by the Indiana Fever, Cardoso was chosen third by the Chicago Sky, and Iowa's Kate Martin was drafted to the Las Vegas Aces with the eighteenth pick.