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After it's all said and done, the 2024 women's basketball season will be about South Carolina's rise to immortality.
Dawn Staley's Gamecocks won their third national title, but, more importantly, they completed a perfect season. At 38-0, Carolina is the first women's basketball team since UConn in 2016 to complete an undefeated season with an NCAA Tournament crown.
Only five women's basketball programs have accomplished the feat. It's even more impressive when considered that during the women's NCAA Tournament history, no men's basketball program has had a perfect season.
So, here are the five schools whose women's basketball teams have had perfect seasons.
Five women's basketball programs that have completed undefeated seasons
#5 Texas (1985-86)
Texas's 34-0 season was the fewest wins to conclude an unbeaten season. In part, it was because Texas had to win only five NCAA Tournament games to win their women's basketball title. Still, Jody Conradt's Longhorns are the first perfect team since the beginning of the NCAA Tournament in 1982.
The Longhorns opened the season at No. 10 Ohio State and won by only two points. After that, they had only a handful of close games all year. But a three-point win over Ole Miss in the regional final was their only NCAA Tournament scare.
Four Texas played averaged double-figure scoring totals as Texas beat USC and Cheryl Miller to claim the title.
#4 Baylor (2011-12)
The 40-0 Bears rolled to a perfect season. They beat three different No. 2 teams during their perfect season. A couple of five-point victories, including an early one over then No. 2 UConn, were the only close calls Baylor faced. Kim Mulkey's team was a near-mericless women's basketball machine.
Britney Griner led the Bears, scoring 23.2 points per game and grabbing 9.5 rebounds per game in her junior year. Guard Odyssey Sims added 14.9 ppg. Despite not having a senior among their top six scorers, Baylor rolled to history. Their closest NCAA game was a semifinal win by 12 points over No. 2 Stanford.
#3 Tennessee (1997-98)
The 39-0 Vols deserve a little extra credit for putting together a perfect women's basketball season once their rivalry with UConn had reached an impressive pitch.
Tennessee had very few close calls all year. A four-point win in the SEC Tournament championship over Alabama and a six-point regional final win over North Carolina were the only games within 10 points.
Shamique Holdsclaw was the star of the team, scoring 23.5 ppg and grabbing 8.4 rpg. She also led the team in steals and was second in assists. Freshman Tamkia Catchings added 18.2 ppg, while fellow freshman Semeka Randall added 15.9 ppg.
Tennessee had just one senior on the team who played 60 minutes all season as the Vols won their Final Four games by 28 and 18 points.
#2 South Carolina (38-0)
The Gamecocks somehow began the season at just No. 6 but quickly bypassed preseason No. 1 LSU.
The Gamecocks' two games with LSU were almost their only close games. A six-point win in the regular season and a seven-point win in the SEC Tournament were competitive. Only Tennessee, losing to LSU in the SEC semifinals on a buzzer-beater, really threatened its perfect season.
A four-point Sweet 16 win over Indiana was the only competitive NCAA Tournament game. Center Kamilla Cardoso was the top scorer for Carolina, averaging 14.4 ppg while grabbing 9.7 rpg.
Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley was the second scorer, putting in 11.7 ppg off the bench. Outlasting Caitlin Clark and Iowa by 12 in the finals on Sunday closed ther perfect season.
#1 UConn (1994-95, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2015-16)
The only team to complete multiple perfect seasons has done so no fewer than six times. Geno Auriemma's unbeaten teams have each been amazing, and their cumulative impression is just sheer dominance.
In 1994-95, Rebecca Lobo led 35-0 UConn to its first ever title. The only opponents who came within 10 points of UConn were Virginia in a four-point Elite Eight win and Tennessee in a six-point title victory.
Auriemma's 39-0 Huskies in 2001-02 led the nation in scoring and scoring defense. A nine-point win over Virginia Tech in January was the only remotely close game UConn played. Swin Cash, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were the stars of that group.
In 2008-09, nobody played closer than 10 points behind 39-0 UConn. Sophomore Maya Moore averaged 19.3 ppg and 8.9 rpg. The next year, UConn again was 39-0. Only the finals, a six-point win over Stanford, was a closer game than a 14-point differential.
In 2013-14, UConn went 40-0, and their closest game was an 11 point regular-season win over Baylor. The Huskies won their NCAA Tournament games by 43, 39, 19, 15, 19 and 21 points.
Two years later, Brianna Stewart led another unbeaten team, this one 38-0, to a title. A pair of 10-point wins over Notre Dame and Maryland and December were as close as it got. The Huskies won their Tournament games by 52, 46, 60, 21, 29 and 31 points.
Not only have the Huskies had six perfect seasons, in many seasons, they almost never played a competitive game. Connecticut is still the gold standard to which all other programs aspire.
Will South Carolina become the first non-UConn women's basketball program to nab multiple perfect seasons? The future certainly looks bright for Dawn Staley's team, but it's a long haul to catch up with UConn's resume.
