ESPN announces most-viewed Women's Final Four in history

There was plenty of hype heading into Friday’s Women’s Final Four of the NCAA Tournament with two intriguing matchups. A record amount of people tuned in to ESPN for it, as well.

ESPN announced the ratings for the Women’s Final Four on Saturday, showing an average of 4.5 million viewers tuned in for the games. That’s a 66% year-over-year increase, according to ESPN, and a new record for the most-viewed women’s national semifinals on record.

Iowa vs. South Carolina was the biggest draw with 5.5 million viewers — a 72% year-over-year increase — and peaked at 6.6 million. LSU vs. Virginia Tech drew 3.4 million viewers, which was a 57% year-over-year increase, and had a peak audience of 5 million.

Do-it-all guard Caitlin Clark has become the face of the tournament thanks in large part to back-to-back 40-point performances, becoming the first player in tournament history to do so. Because of that, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said the game is growing because more people are talking about it, and that’s a good thing.

“I think my team has had a role in it,” Bluder said Saturday ahead of the national championship. “I do, I think people are talking about the Iowa Hawkeyes, obviously talking about Caitlin Clark, and that’s so good. It’s so good when people are talking about women’s basketball, and we’re having debates about who’s the best player, and it’s passionate debates. That’s so good for our game.”

Fans watched two exciting games in the Women’s Final Four

There was plenty of chatter about the two showdowns coming in. Iowa and South Carolina was the big draw as it pitted two of the top teams in the country against each other. The Gamecocks bring a stout defense every game, leading fans to wonder how they’d go about stopping Clark and the Iowa offense.

South Carolina certainly had a hard time as Clark went off for 41 points, becoming the first player to score 40 points in back-to-back games in tournament history, to help lead Iowa to the victory and advance to its first-ever national championship.

But the other matchup brought some intrigue, as well. LSU is in the midst of an impressive turnaround under Kim Mulkey in just her second year at the helm. After taking Baylor to four Final Fours, Mulkey — dressed as only she can — now has the Tigers in the national championship two years removed from a nine-win season. It wasn’t easy, though, as they came all the way back from a 12-point deficit to defeat Virginia Tech to reach the title game.

The national championship game could reach even more people than the Final Four. For the first time ever, the game will be broadcast on ABC as LSU and Iowa square off in the matchup. Whichever team wins will take home its first-ever national title. The game tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.