DALLAS — Iowa vs. LSU in Sunday's national title game didn't just crown a first-time champion, it broke viewing records too.
The 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship was watched by 9.9 million viewers, ESPN announced Monday. The game peaked at 12.6 million viewers and was the most-watched women's college basketball game ever.
The Tigers topped the Hawkeyes 102-85 in a game highlighted by questionable officiating, and at the end, an Angel Reese crowning moment in front of Caitlin Clark.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”
The game was tight for the first 15 minutes before Jasmine Carson got hot from the outside. She made all six of her shots in the second quarter, including four 3-pointers. After one of them, she threw her hands in the air and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey mimicked it on the sidelines.
The Associated Press contributed to this report