Caitlin Clark led the Iowa Hawkeyes to a historic victory over LSU in the Albany 2 Region final, drawing a record-breaking 12.3 million viewers on ESPN. Clark's impressive performance, scoring 41 points, helped Iowa avenge their loss to LSU in last year's national championship game.
This viewership figure surpassed the previous record set by the 1983 NCAA championship game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech, which had 11.84 million viewers. Notably, LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who played for Louisiana Tech, faced off against USC legend Cheryl Miller in that game, with the Trojans emerging victorious.
According to Sports Media Watch, this game marks the most-viewed basketball event on ESPN since the 2018 Eastern Conference finals Game 7, where the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics in front of 13.6 million viewers.
Clark's exceptional performances throughout the women's NCAA Tournament have garnered an average of 6.83 million viewers across four games on ESPN and ABC. Iowa is now set to clash with UConn in the national semifinal at the Women's Final Four, with the winner advancing to face either South Carolina or North Carolina State in the championship game, which will be broadcast on ABC.
The Hawkeyes' victory over Colorado in the regional semifinal attracted 6.9 million viewers on ABC, making it the third most-watched women's tournament game since ESPN began covering the event in 1996. Iowa's recent games have consistently drawn impressive viewership numbers, with the last five matches surpassing 3 million viewers and the last three each exceeding 4.9 million.
LSU's win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 game prior to the Iowa matchup also drew significant attention, averaging 3.8 million viewers. Additionally, South Carolina's victory over Indiana and UConn's triumph against Duke each attracted 2.1 million and 2 million viewers, respectively.
With the women's college basketball tournament heating up, fans can expect more thrilling matchups and record-breaking viewership numbers as the competition progresses.
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