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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
The U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's division game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers set a new TV-ratings record, ESPN said on Tuesday.
The Iowa Hawkeye's 94-87 victory over the LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight of the on Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN. That makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year.
ESPN PR's tweet on April 3 about the game between Iowa and LSU. /@ESPNPR
The previous record was 11.83 million viewers for the 1983 final between Southern California and Louisiana Tech on CBS, a major network rather than a cable telecaster.
ESPN's previous women's basketball record viewership was 9.9 million people for last year's Iowa-LSU final, but jumped 24 percent this year to become the top U.S. prime-time program.
Also, the ratings made the Iowa victory the most watched basketball game on ESPN since game seven of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference finals between Boston and the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.
The contest outdrew every Major League Baseball game in more than a year and every National Hockey League game since game seven of the 1971 Stanley Cup final between Chicago and Montreal.
Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after beating the LSU Tigers 94-87 in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at MVP Arena in Albany, New York, U.S., April 1, 2024. /CFP
Caitlin Clark, the all-time leading scorer for men or women in the history of U.S. college basketball, scored 41 points in Iowa Hawkeye's victory over the LSU Tigers in a rematch of last year's March Madness championship game.
The 22-year-old Hawkeyes guard, set to be the top pick in the April 15 Women's NBA Draft, made nine 3-pointers in the contest, matching the record for a women's NCAA tournament game and passing Diana Taurasi for the all-time 3-pointers record in the event.
"When the stage is the brightest, when the spotlight is the brightest, she's at her very best," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.
"Her distant threes last night were spectacular. Some people wither in the moment. She just gets stronger in the moment. When it's her time, I mean, she's going to just shine."
(With input from agencies)