(CNN) 鈥� As Caitlin Clark鈥檚 stardom has transcended women鈥檚 college basketball this year, she has become the center of its universe around which everything else orbits.
After doing so much to popularize the sport, she now has an opportunity to complete her fairytale season on Sunday when Iowa appears in the women鈥檚 national championship game.
But the Hawkeyes will face the mighty South Carolina for the title, a team which is undefeated, the No. 1 overall seed and 108-3 in the last seasons. Nine of the previous 10 undefeated teams who reached the title game have won the championship, according to ESPN
Despite these odds, Iowa will be buoyed by the memory of defeating South Carolina in the Final Four last year, upsetting the Gamecocks behind a record-breaking 41 points from Clark.
And a similar performance from this season鈥檚 most dominant player will be required to defeat this season鈥檚 most dominant team.
How to watch
The Gamecocks and the Hawkeyes will face off for the title at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 7 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Some tickets were still available at time of publication, though the cheapest cost $400, but the game can also be watched on ABC.
鈥楾he legacy of Caitlin Clark鈥�
It is a second consecutive NCAA championship game for Iowa, after it fell short at the final hurdle last year against LSU. The Hawkeyes have already exacted revenge against LSU, defeating their rival in the Elite Eight, but now have a chance to win the title at the second time of asking.
And, of course, the spotlight will be on Clark, following her extraordinary season in which she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball history, and gained a level of stardom that saw the term 鈥楥lark-onomics鈥� coined to describe her impact on women鈥檚 college basketball.
鈥淲e get to witness firsthand the legacy of Caitlin Clark,鈥� South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told reporters on Saturday. 鈥淵ou watch her. You prep for her. You can鈥檛 help but to really love how she dissects the game. You love how she executes.鈥�
Clark seems able to turn the tide of a game seemingly at will, to dismiss any lingering doubts from a shaky period and go on a scoring run.
In the Final Four, she overcame a poor first-half shooting performance and impressive UConn defense to drag her team back into the game and finish with 21 points. It didn鈥檛 matter that she failed to make a three-point shot in the first half, going 0-for-6, and was held to six points in the first two quarters.
鈥淭he best thing about our group is we went into the locker room at halftime and it wasn鈥檛, like, oh, come on, you鈥檝e got to make shots. It was, no, stop turning the ball over and you鈥檙e going to be perfectly fine,鈥� she told reporters after the UConn game.
Her popularity, in part, pulled in 12 million viewers to watch the Iowa-LSU Elite Eight game on Monday, more than the average MLB World Series, NBA Final or Stanley Cup games last season. Iowa鈥檚 Final Four game against UConn peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN鈥檚 second-best non-football telecast ever. Now, Clark鈥檚 presence in the championship game makes it one of the most hotly anticipated women鈥檚 college basketball games ever.
Part of her genius is her ability to improve the level of everyone else on her team too. It was sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke who led the way for Iowa in the Final Four with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, attributing her performance to 鈥渃onfidence鈥� after the game.
鈥淚 think the confidence is everything,鈥� she told reporters. 鈥淓specially hearing Caitlin Clark talk about me like that, it gives me a confidence boost. I think anyone would say that. But they just fed me the ball very well.鈥�
鈥楾he team of the year鈥�
But for all that Clark has dominated the headlines, South Carolina has dominated on the court, boasting a perfect 37-0 record this season and reaching the Final Four each of the last four years.
鈥淲e know we have our hands full,鈥� Clark told reporters on Saturday. 鈥淓verybody around the country knows South Carolina has been the team all year. They鈥檝e deserved that. They鈥檝e earned it. They鈥檝e just been incredible.鈥�
And the Gamecocks are still fueled by the painful memories from last year鈥檚 Final Four defeat against Iowa, though all their starters from that game have since left, adding another layer of rivalry to this charged title game.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 unfinished business,鈥� guard Raven Johnson said on Friday, per ESPN. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got one more game and we can鈥檛 let down right now because we didn鈥檛 come this far just to come this far. So we have a mission. We came here for one reason, to get a national championship.鈥�
Led by 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina defeated No. 3 NC State 78-59 in this year鈥檚 Final Four as Cardoso finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
There is a formidable strength in depth in this South Carolina team, Ashlyn Watkins came off the bench in the Final Four and added 20 rebounds to go with eight points, while Johnson contributed with five assists, 13 points and two rebounds.
And in each of the first four rounds of this NCAA tournament, South Carolina had a different leading top scorer, such is their prowess across the court.
鈥淚owa鈥檚 a challenge,鈥� Staley told reporters on Saturday. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e playing their best basketball. They鈥檙e playing inspired. They鈥檙e playing like they want to win a national championship. So are we. I think it鈥檚 a crash course of who鈥檚 going to have the better run, who鈥檚 going to be able to execute when it鈥檚 time to execute.鈥�
The-CNN-Wire
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