Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers shine on a 'night for the ages'

By the time we finally caught our breath Monday night, after an unforgettable women’s NCAA Tournament doubleheader, two thoughts emerged about this thriving sport:

With a highly alluring Final Four set to unfold this weekend in Cleveland, the best is yet to come. Secondly, it’s difficult to reconcile how a sport whose on-court product is so stellar and popular can still be plagued by embarrassing infrastructure issues like the 3-point line debacle that played out Sunday in Portland.

But on Monday night, the games – and the stars – took center stage, as what is sure to be a massive viewing audience on ESPN witnessed:

Caitlin over Angel.

Paige over JuJu.

In a rematch a year in the making, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark authored a virtuoso performance – 41 points, 12 assists – in dethroning Angel Reese and LSU, the defending national champion. We’ve run out of superlatives for Clark, who continues to exceed expectations despite the weight of the sport on her 22-year-old shoulders.

In the handshake line, LSU coach Kim Mulkey pulled Clark close and said, “I sure am glad you’re leaving. Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.”

None of us have.

As if that wasn’t enough, UConn’s Paige Bueckers scored 28 points to lift the Huskies past USC All-American freshman JuJu Watkins and into its 23rd Final Four. Once the face of the sport, Bueckers has battled through serious injuries, which cost her all of last year. Now she is at her best.

“Today was one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever felt in my life,” Bueckers said.

So the matchups in Cleveland pit Clark against Bueckers and undefeated South Carolina, in its fourth consecutive Final Four, against NC State. The rich storylines dwarf what can be found on the men’s side, which looks increasingly like the UConn Invitational.

“Women’s basketball has gone to new heights,” LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson said. 

How much has women’s basketball changed?

But to assess the full state of the sport, it would be remiss to appreciate the surging popularity of women’s basketball without also recognizing this: The sport’s infrastructure remains inferior.

It’s been three years since several athletes – led by former Oregon women’s basketball player Sedona Prince – took to social media to demonstrate the inequality between weight rooms, food and other amenities provided by the NCAA to athletes during the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. 

A report prepared by Roberta A. Kaplan and her law firm found that the organization’s “broadcast agreements, corporate sponsorship contracts, distribution of revenue, organizational structure and culture all prioritize Division I men’s basketball over everything else in ways that create, normalize and perpetuate gender inequities.” 

How much has changed?

Since then, the NCAA has addressed several branding and resource issues related to the women’s tournament. Discussions are underway to belatedly introduce NCAA Tournament financial units into women’s basketball. And the NCAA secured an eight-year, $920 million rights deal with ESPN to broadcast 40 championships, including the women’s tournament. 

Media experts disagree on whether the NCAA should have unbundled the women’s property and sold it as a separate entity. Regardless, that doesn’t change the fact that the trajectory of the sport is pointing straight up. This year’s tournament is breaking all sorts of TV viewing records. 

That makes what occurred over the weekend at the Moda Center in Portland all the more inexplicable. The NCAA said one of the 3-point lines was some nine inches shorter than regulation. The mismatched 3-point lines were corrected for Monday’s UConn-USC game, but not before five tournament games had already been played on it.

Connor Sports manufactures the NCAA tournament courts. But that doesn’t absolve the NCAA of responsibility. Its passive statement at halftime of Sunday’s NC State-Texas game was inadequate, saying, “The NCAA was notified today that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance.”

Women’s basketball finally getting spotlight

It was embarrassing and unacceptable. The women’s game deserves better than the amateur hour that played out in Portland and Indianapolis. Had this occurred in the men’s game, coaches would still be frothing at the mouth.

But the more important point: It never would have occurred in the men’s game.

The NCAA has neglected the women’s game for far too long. Only now does the sport enjoy the spotlight and promotion it deserves. And now that it has it, its stars are shining, its popularity is surging.

Savor Monday’s captivating doubleheader for what it was: An indelible moment in women’s basketball history. But also know this: With storylines and stars galore in Cleveland, the best is yet to come. 

“No matter which way it went tonight,” LSU’s Reese said, “I know this was going to be a night for the ages.”