On Her Turf’s Natalie Esquire and Callie Fin reflect on their top women’s sports moments from the year, from gold medal Olympic wins, historic WNBA finals and plenty of strong comeback stories.

1) Gamecocks cap perfect season with NCAA title win over Iowa

The University of South Carolina Gamecocks completed their undefeated season after they bested Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In 2023, they had fallen in the semifinals to the Hawkeyes. Led by the legendary Dawn Staley, who racked up multiple coach of the year accolades, and Kamilla Cardoso, star defensive player of the year, the Gamecocks secured their third national championship title. “When young people lock in and have a belief, and have a trust, and their parents have that same trust, this is what can happen,” Staley said after the win. “They made history. They etched their names in the history books.”

2) New York Liberty win first WNBA Championship

The New York Liberty, an original WNBA franchise, won its first ever WNBA championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx, 67-62, and going 3-2 in the series. The 2024 season was record-breaking across the league, with soaring attendance numbers and viewership. The No. 1 seeded Liberty had reached the final five other times, including falling to the Aces in 2023, but had never won. The 2024 title marked the first basketball championship win for New York in 48 years, and Ellie the Elephant celebrated accordingly.

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3) U.S. women’s gymnastics reclaims team gold at Olympics

Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team reclaimed team gold at the Paris Olympics. After taking home silver in 2020, all eyes were on Team USA’s redemption tour and Biles’ return to Olympic competition after she withdrew from Tokyo with the twisties. The squad featured Tokyo returners Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Jade Carey. The Americans had a 3.602 led over Italy heading into the final rotation, where Biles delivered her triple-twist double on the floor to clinch the U.S.’s fourth ever gold medal in the event.

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4) Katie Ledecky four-peats in 800m freestyle at Paris Olympics

On the anniversary of her first gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle (August 3, London 2012), Katie Ledecky took home her fourth consecutive medal in the event in Paris. In a gritty, neck-and-neck race, Ledecky held off Australian star Ariarne Titmus, who was 11 years old when Ledecky won her first gold in the event. With the win, Ledecky now has 14 Olympic medals, nine of them gold, making her the most decorated U.S. woman athlete to compete in the Olympics.

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5) USWNT tops Brazil to win gold at Paris Olympics

The USWNT took home its fifth gold medal in Paris after a tight, 1-0 match against Brazil. The win came just 70 days after Emma Hayes started her tenure as head coach, her new leadership a breath of fresh air for a program that last won gold in 2012 and settled for bronze in 2016. The self-proclaimed “Triple Espresso” trio of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson powered the team through an undefeated tournament. The match was also Marta’s last international game, with her retirement pending at the end of 2024.

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6) USATF comes from behind to win gold in 4x100m relay

Anchored by Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry and Gabby Thomas earned the team’s first medal in eight years with their gold medal finish in the 4x100m relay. Richardson came from behind in fourth place to secure the gold, 0.07 seconds ahead of Great Britian and Germany in a tight-knit, rainy race. It was Thomas’ second Olympics, while everyone else made their Olympic debuts.

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7) USA Basketball wins 8th straight Olympic gold in thriller

The USA Women’s Basketball team added to its undefeated streak at the Olympics, defeating the host France in a close 67-66 game. With the gritty win, the U.S. earned its eighth consecutive gold medal and has now won 61 games in a row at the Olympics, beginning all the way back in 1992. Led by A’Ja Wilson and her 21 points and head coach Cheryl Reeves, the team became the first team in any sport in Olympic history to win eight straight golds.

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8) Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaks her own world record

What can’t she do? Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the defending gold medalist in the women’s 400m hurdles heading into Paris. She not only secured gold once again, but finished in 50.37, .28 seconds faster than her world record time she set in June at the Olympic trials and demolished the Olympic record of 51.46.

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9) Coco Gauff rallies to win first WTA Finals title

20-year-old Coco Gauff became the youngest player since 2004 to win the WTA Finals, after a season filled with ups and downs, including the longest title match in WTA Finals history. With her wins during the tournament, she also became the youngest player since 2002 to beat the reigning world No.1 and No. 2 and brought home the largest single prize in WTA history of $4.8 million dollars.

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10) Team USA wins first-ever medal in women’s rugby

In the final seconds of the bronze medal rugby game, all hope seemed lost for the U.S, down 7-12 to Australia. Then, Team USA’s Alex Sedrick sprinted the entire length of the pitch, diving for a try that would tie the game. Sedrick, not a designated kicker, took the conversion to secure Team USA’s first ever medal in the sport since it was added in 2016 and the first medal in rugby 15s or 7s for the U.S since 1924. “I hope it means we get more games in stadiums like this, that we get more money and funding for the women’s game. We deserve it. We need more girls in the U.S trying rugby and seeing what it can do for them,” Ilona Maher said.

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South Carolina State Bulldogs (6-8) at Georgia Bulldogs (11-1)

Athens, Georgia; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Georgia hosts South Carolina State after Deshayne Montgomery scored 22 points in Georgia’s 81-65 victory over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.

The Georgia Bulldogs are 8-0 on their home court. Georgia ranks fifth in the SEC with 10.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Asa Newell averaging 3.4.

The South Carolina State Bulldogs are 2-7 on the road. South Carolina State ranks fifth in the MEAC shooting 33.8% from 3-point range.

Georgia averages 7.9 made 3-pointers per game, 1.5 more made shots than the 6.4 per game South Carolina State gives up. South Carolina State scores 11.7 more points per game (75.2) than Georgia allows to opponents (63.5).

TOP PERFORMERS: Newell is scoring 15.8 points per game and averaging 6.4 rebounds for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Wilson Dubinsky is shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc with 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the South Carolina State Bulldogs, while averaging 8.2 points.

LAST 10 GAMES: Georgia Bulldogs: 9-1, averaging 82.0 points, 35.7 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 8.9 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.0 points per game.

South Carolina State Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 69.6 points, 29.6 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

The South Carolina Gamecocks are headed to Orlando, Florida to take on Illinois in the Citrus Bowl. Here are the latest betting lines and score predictions for the matchup.

The South Carolina Gamecocks wrapped up a (9-3) regular season on the precipest of a College Football Playoff run. Though just three spots out of the Top-12, the Gamecocks found themselves matched up with the Fighting Illini of Illinois in the Citrus Bowl.

Betting Intel:

Predictions:

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