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South Carolina-Texas becomes ESPN's most-watched women's basketball game of 2024-25 season

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 14 hours•

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Texas forward Madison Booker vs. South Carolina
© Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Sunday, as millions of fans were getting ready for Super Bowl LIX, ESPN had a Top-5 women’s basketball appetizer. No. 2 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas squared off in Austin – and it became the network’s most-watched women’s basketball game of the 2024-25 season so far.

Sunday’s game averaged 1 million viewers and peaked at 1.3 million, ESPN announced Tuesday. That set the new viewership high for the network and the third-most watched overall. FOX has the top two spots.

USC’s victory over UConn is the most-watched game of the season to date, averaging 2.23 million viewers on Dec. 21, 2024. The Trojans’ Feb. 2 loss to Iowa came in at No. 2 with 1.1 million tuning in as Caitlin Clark’s jersey number was retired afterward.

The pre-Super Bowl time slot was significant for a women’s basketball game, as South Carolina coach Dawn Staley noted after the game. She expected a big viewership number, and she hopes it’s just the beginning of the “respect” for the game.

“Quite honestly, we’re it right now,” Staley said. “Women’s basketball is it right now. … They’re not gonna put just any women’s game on to be be a prelude to the Super Bowl. They put it on because they know the ratings will be there. They knew it was going to be a tightly matched basketball game.

“I just hope now that people are seeing our game being showcased, that we’ll get the respect in all areas – revenue-sharing. I hope we get the respect in all areas that our game deserves.”

NCAA women’s basketball saw a viewership surge a season ago, thanks in large part to the popularity around Clark and Iowa. The national championship between Iowa and South Carolina was the cherry on top of a record-setting year as more than 18 million people tuned in for the Gamecocks’ victory. This year, three games are known to hit 1 million viewers.

How it happened: Texas defeats South Carolina in thriller

Texas took a 36-27 lead into halftime, but South Carolina mounted the comeback to tie things up at 49-49 entering the fourth quarter. However, the Longhorns did enough to pull away and get the victory, handing the Gamecocks their second loss of the season and first in SEC play so far this year. In fact, it marked South Carolina’s first conference defeat in nearly three years.

Madison Booker led the way for Texas with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Kyla Oldacre added 13 points and six boards off the bench. The Longhorns shot 44.1% from the field as a group on offense and held strong on defense, keeping South Carolina to a 36.8% clip with two fewer shot attempts.

Texas will now look to continue the momentum Thursday night against Kentucky on ESPN2. South Carolina, meanwhile, will try to bounce back as it takes on Florida on Thursday.