Great teams and intriguing players make the 2023 women’s Final Four one for the ages.
South Carolina, LSU, Virginia Tech and Iowa are in Dallas to compete for the national title. Ticket demand exceeds previous years, with the cheapest at a face value of $160 – more than the cheapest ticket for the men’s Final Four in Houston. (American Airlines Center, the women's venue, is considerably smaller than NRG Stadium, the men's venue.)
TV ratings have shattered previous highs. Per Sports Media Watch,, the Elite Eight games on ESPN averaged 2.2 million viewers, up 43% from the previous year. The Louisville-Iowa matchup led the way with a peak viewership of 2.5 million – more than any NBA game on ESPN this season.
Per OddsChecker, South Carolina — which plays Iowa on Friday at 9 p.m. ET — is heavily favored to win the title. LSU will play Virginia Tech in the first game Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Here are four players to watch — one from each team — in the Final Four:
The Hokies are led by senior center Kitley, who averages 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds. She was a Second-Team All-American and is a two-time ACC Player of the Year. Tech's offense runs through the paint, and for it to advance to the championship game, Kitley must have a monster game.
2K @HokiesWBB's @elizabethkitley just scored her 2,000th career point!
— HokieSports (@hokiesports) March 25, 2023
: ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/cBLj83JBcP
“This has been something that we've set out for, and I think once this group of girls sets their mind to something, it's going to be really hard to deter us from that,” Kitley said after the Elite Elite win, according to VTScoop. “That's just our mindset the last few months, honestly. We just have the most confidence in ourselves, and we don't care what anybody else thinks.”
Reese, who averages 23.2 points and 15.7 rebounds, has had a monster tournament for third-seeded LSU.
“When somebody else is shooting, she’s very hard to block out,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of her star, according to Yahoo Sports. “She’s not going to give up just because you put a body in front of her. You’d better get some position, you’d better get some strength because she’s going to fight you in there for it.”
Angel Reese with the DIME in transition @LSUwbkb is starting to roll. pic.twitter.com/yeXaNbxjtd
— ESPN (@espn) March 26, 2023
“Bayou Barbie" boasts 548,000 followers on Instagram and is known for her sleeve worn during games.
Last season, Boston captured National Player of the Year honors and led South Carolina to the championship. Now, she trying for a repeat. She averages 13.2 points and 9.8 rebounds — both figures down from last season — but the South Carolina juggernaut has not slowed.
This moment between Aliyah Boston and Dawn Staley ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cIlZWvFo4h
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 5, 2023
Boston could easily take over the Final Four from the paint.
“It [doesn't] matter if they quadruple-team her or triple-team her, she always keeps her composure,” teammate Raven Johnson said of Boston, according to The State.
No list of players to watch in the Final Four is complete without Clark. She has been compared to Steph Curry and mentioned among the all-time greats in women’s basketball. She scores and passes with the best and is favored for National Player of the Year. She taunts, too.
"You're down by 15 points. Shut up."
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2023
Caitlin Clark chirping at Hailey Van Lith pic.twitter.com/hFpHPlAhl6
Clark’s 41-point triple-double in the Elite Eight was the first-of-its-kind performance in the men's or women's tournaments. She averages 27.3 points and 7.3 rebounds but will need a historic game to beat South Carolina.
“It's funny, because the better the opponent, almost the better she plays,” head coach Lisa Bluder said, per the Des Moines Register. “It's like she locks in on those when we're playing against top 25 teams. That's when her statistics even go up even more, against great opponents.”
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