South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley made sure to celebrate the individual contributions of Iowa's Caitlin Clark after the Gamecocks prevailed 87-75 in the 2024 national championship game of women's March Madness.

"I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport," Staley said on the championship podium.

She also called Clark "one of the GOATS of our game."

The biggest question heading into Sunday was whether Clark's individual brilliance could overcome the Gamecocks' collective strength. The answer was definitive.

The national player of the year had a game-high 30 points, but 18 of those came in the first quarter. She also shot 10-of-28 from the field and 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, with South Carolina guard Raven Johnson blanketing her for most of the contest.

Finishing runner-up for the second straight year will be a bitter pill to swallow for Clark and her teammates who were on the 2023 squad. The absence of a title could be important from a legacy perspective as well. It's bound to be a point cited when comparing her résumé with that of other legends.

As Staley's comments underlined, however, nothing about Sunday's result changes the impact Clark has made on the game.

Building on the contributions of those before her, she has unquestionably helped to bring more mainstream attention to women's basketball. The 2024 NCAA tournament has twice set a viewership record already and the ratings for the final could be even higher.

And it will take years to fully appreciate how the 6'0" guard's on-court approach influences the younger players to come.