On Sunday afternoon, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the NCAA Division I Women’s National Basketball Championship for the second time in three years. The team completed an undefeated, 39-0 season in which it was the No. 1 seed in the tournament and was able to advance throughout the competition. There have been several ratings triumphs throughout the tournament, including record viewership for ESPN coverage of the Elite Eight and Final Four.
In fact, the Final Four matchup between Iowa and UConn broke the record as the most-watched women’s basketball game in history with an average of 14.2 million viewers on ESPN. The game peaked at 17 million viewers and represented the network’s highest audience for any basketball game on record.
Throughout its coverage from Cleveland, Ohio this past weekend, ESPN featured several basketball luminaries offering their perspectives and promulgating aspects of the game. Among those analysts included former players Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter, both of whom appeared on Monday morning’s edition of First Take on ESPN. Featured commentator and executive producer Stephen A. Smith divulged how important commentary is within the world of sports, mentioning heralded broadcasters such as Howard Cossell, Mike Breen and John Madden.
“I’m bringing all of that up to say that as great as this season was; as great at this NCAA tournament was, I had the pleasure of watching who I believe to be two of the best basketball analysts in America in Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter,” Smith said.
For Sunday’s National Championship Game, Ogwumike and Carter were part of the NCAA Women’s Championship Special on ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN3. They worked alongside Elle Duncan, Carolyn Peck and Aliyah Boston ahead of the broadcast of the National Championship Game. After the conclusion of the matchup, they were on NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Studio on ESPN and ESPN+.
“You guys were phenomenal, and a lot of things that have been done for the sport and them playing the way that they played, it was accentuated and illuminated by the way you two performed,” Smith said. “You were absolutely sensational. I can’t even tell you all how proud I am of the job you all did during this NCAA tournament.”
