WATCH: $3.3M NIL-valued Caitlin Clark checks out for final time in her college career in national championship game loss to South Carolina
The top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks capped off a perfect 2024 season, winning the national championship 87-75 over fellow 1-seed Iowa. And considering Caitlin Clark has already declared for the WNBA, she checked out of the NCAA hardwood for the last time in her college career.
Here's a video tweeted by Clutch Points featuring the $3.3 million NIL-valued star (as per On3) going to the bench with her team down 12 points in the final moments.
The West Des Moines, Iowa, native and likely No. 1 pick in this year's WNBA draft finished with 30 points on 10-for-28 shooting, including 5 of 13 from 3-point country. Fellow senior Kate Martin followed with 16 points for the Hawkeyes, who have lost two straight national title games.
Either way, with Caitlin Clark well on her way to the WNBA, this is the last time that she'll don the Iowa jersey.
Things looked like Clark and her squad were destined to win a ring. Iowa started the game with a 10-0 run. But Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks buckled down, kept calm and plucked at the lead. They outscored Iowa 29-19 in the second quarter to build a 49-46 halftime lead.
During the entirety second half, the Gamecocks' balanced offensive attack proved to be the difference-maker. Iowa kept the game close, but Dawn Staley's team proved how cohesive a unit they were throughout.
Caitlin Clark's legendary 2024 NCAA season
With her career in Iowa City now over, Caitlin Clark's legendary run as a Hawkeye should be one for the history books. Her 2023-2024 season was a magical run in every shape or form, even if she didn't win a national championship.
The Iowa star broke two of the biggest collegiate hoops scoring records. First, the women's career mark set by Kelsey Plum in a 49-point explosion against Michigan on Feb. 16. Then, she surpassed the record set by the legendary Pistol Pete Maravich to become the NCAA Division I scoring king for men and women.
To cap things off, she also set three more records. First, there was Steph Curry's NCAA single-season record for 3-pointers. And then there were two women's NCAA Tournament career marks: 3-pointers and scoring, surpassing Maya Moore and Chamique Holdsclaw.