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 as March Madness heads to the Final Four on Friday night.

A year ago, 9.9 million people tuned in to see Angel Reese and LSU beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa in a national championship game made unforgettable by the two stars who backed up their talk with stellar play. The game was on a national network — ABC — for the first time since 1996.

Well, this season Clark and Reese were back for more and Iowa won a thrilling rematch in the Elite Eight behind 41 points from Clark as more than 12 million people watched in a record for a women's college basketball game on Monday night. 

 in one semifinal on Friday night. In the other, North Carolina State will take on No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, which 

 and has a chance to become the 10th perfect national champion.

Clark has been the talk of the sport all season after becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I history and selling out venues wherever Iowa went. She will share the stage in Cleveland this weekend.

The Wolfpack weren't even ranked in the preseason but they climbed to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 by December and have been one of the top teams in the country for months. Caitlin, Paige, Angel and USC's JuJu Watkins have been in the spotlight, but 

N.C. State guard Aziaha “Zaza” James is a star,

 scoring 29 points and then 27 the past two games. 

The Gamecocks are deep and relentless, riding 22 points from center Kamilla Cardoso in the Sweet 16 and then 15 from Minnesotan Tessa Johnson in the next game to advance to the semifinals.

The Friday night lights will be bright for the 

, two standout guards who make their teammates shine. 

Clark's scoring has been the talk of the sport, but she also leads the nation in assists per game while 

Bueckers is back in MVP form for the Huskies,

 who are in their record 23rd Final Four.

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — 

 — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select games on ABC. While ESPN will air the Final Four, the title game will be back on ABC, just like last season.

South Carolina is the overwhelming favorite to win its second title in three years and third overall, all since 2017, under coach Dawn Staley. Behind the Gamecocks (in order) are Iowa, UConn and N.C. State, according to 

The Final Four is in Cleveland on Friday night with the championship game at 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

 is on full blast. A lot of those talented players 

 too. And some of the coaches who reached the NCAA Tournament certainly 

There was a lot of talk about how to stop Clark, who is coached 

 in the tournament as the conference fades away, but none advanced to the Final Four.

 despite robust attendance and ratings. The NCAA had to 

 when it was discovered she had a degree from one of the schools whose game she was officiating. Notre Dame star Hanna Hidalgo missed a chunk of the Fighting Irish’s Sweet 16 loss 

when officials made her remove a nose ring,

 which she had played with earlier in the tournament.

Away from the court, Utah players and coaches were 

 near their Idaho hotel, which was 40 minutes away from their game site. The NCAA also said one of the 3-point lines on the court used this past weekend in Portland, Oregon, was about 

 at its apex without notice during five tournament games.

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Women’s basketball is having a moment as the Final Four arrives. Both games are Friday night in Cleveland on ESPN. The winners advance to the title game on Sunday, which will be on ABC.

March Madness: How to watch the women’s Final Four and what to watch for in the NCAA Tournament

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