12.3 MILLION: IOWA'S VICTORY OVER LSU IS THE MOST-WATCHED WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME ON RECORD

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 Caitlin Clark can claim another record — the most-watched women's college basketball game in history.

Iowa's 94-87 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament on Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. That makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year.

Iowa-LSU outdrew all but one of the five games in last year's NBA Finals, along with the clinching game of last year's World Series (11.48 million).

Clark scored 41 points as the Hawkeyes avenged last year’s loss to the Tigers in the national championship game.

The viewership surpassed the 11.84 million who watched the 1983 NCAA championship game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech. LSU coach Kim Mulkey played for Louisiana Tech and was matched up against USC great Cheryl Miller in that game, which the Trojans won 64-58.

It was also the most-watched men’s or women’s college basketball game ever on ESPN, more than doubling the prior largest audience.

According to ESPN, the 2002 women’s national championship game between UConn and Oklahoma had the old mark at 5.68 million. ESPN’s most-watched men’s game was the 2008 regular-season matchup between Duke and North Carolina, which drew 5.61 million.

Only one men's NCAA Tournament game this year had bigger viewership: North Carolina State's win over Duke on Sunday in the men's Elite Eight on CBS averaged 15.1 million.

According to Sports Media Watch, it was the most-viewed basketball game on ESPN since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cleveland Cavaliers' victory over the Boston Celtics averaged 13.6 million.

UConn’s 80-73 win over Southern California, which was on after the Iowa game, was the second-most watched college game in ESPN history at 6.7 million. ABC had both regional finals on Sunday, with South Carolina averaging 3.1 million in its win over Oregon State and North Carolina State drawing 2.5 million against Texas.

Clark's four March Madness games on ESPN and ABC have averaged 6.83 million. Iowa will face UConn in Friday's second national semifinal on ESPN. The winner will face either South Carolina or North Carolina State on ABC on Sunday.

The Hawkeyes’ 89-68 win over Colorado in Saturday's regional semifinal averaged 6.9 million viewers on ABC.

Iowa's last five televised games have surpassed 3 million viewers, including the last three that have drawn at least 4.9 million.

The 60 women's tournament games are averaging 1.5 million, a 127% increase over last year.

LSU’s victory over UCLA on Saturday, which preceded the Iowa game, averaged 3.8 million, the second most-watched Sweet 16 game on record.

- JOE REEDY

LSU COACH KIM MULKEY LASHES OUT AT WASHINGTON POST, THREATENS LEGAL ACTION

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 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Kim Mulkey lashed out at and threatened legal action against The Washington Post on Saturday, saying the paper has spent two years pursuing a “hit piece” about her and that it gave her a deadline to answer questions this past week while the defending national champion Tigers were preparing for the women's NCAA Tournament.

“The lengths he has gone to try to put a hit piece together,” Mulkey said of award-winning Post reporter Kent Babb, whom she did not mention by name. “After two years of trying to get me to sit with him for an interview, he contacts LSU on Tuesday as we were getting ready for the first-round game of this tournament with more than a dozen questions, demanding a response by Thursday, right before we’re scheduled to tip off. Are you kidding me?

“This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I could not possibly meet, and the reporter knew it,” Mulkey continued. “It was just an attempt to prevent me from commenting and an attempt to distract us from this tournament. It ain’t going to work, buddy.”

North Carolina beats Michigan State 85-69

Babb confirmed to The Associated Press that he is working on a profile of Mulkey, but declined further comment. The Post also declined comment.

Babb has been working for The Washington Post for 14 years. Three times, his features have been named best in the nation by The Associated Press Sports Editors. Babb also has written two books: “Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City,” and “Not A Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson.”

Mulkey is in her third season at LSU, which signed her to a 10-year, $36 million extension after she won her fourth national title as a coach last season. She also won three with Baylor, along with two as a player at Louisiana Tech and a gold medal as a player for Team USA at the 1984 Olympic Games.

Mulkey said she told Babb two years ago that she wouldn't be interviewed by him because she “didn’t appreciate the hit job he wrote on Brian Kelly,” the current LSU and former Notre Dame football coach.

“I’m fed up, and I’m not going to let The Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have, or me without a fight,” Mulkey added. “I’ve hired the best defamation law firm in the country, and I will sue The Washington Post if they publish a false story about me.

“Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable, but I am, and I’ll do it,” Mulkey said.

Mulkey accused Babb of trying to trick her former assistant coaches into speaking with him by giving them the false impression that Mulkey had acquiesced to being interviewed.

“When my former coaches spoke to him and found out that I wasn’t talking with the reporter, they were just distraught, and they felt completely misled,” Mulkey said.

Mulkey added that former players have told her that the Post “contacted them and offered to let them be anonymous in a story if they’ll say negative things about me.”

“The Washington Post has called former disgruntled players to get negative quotes to include in their story," Mulkey said. “They’re ignoring the 40-plus years of positive stories.

“But you see, reporters who give a megaphone to a one-sided, embellished version of things aren’t trying to tell the truth. They’re trying to sell newspapers and feed the click machine,” Mukley continued. “This is exactly why people don’t trust journalists and the media anymore. It’s these kinds of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of.”

- BRETT MARTEL

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