March Madness: The stars of women’s NCAA basketball face high expectations as the sport grows

Southern California guard JuJu Watkins signs autographs for fans after a 73-55 win over Kansas in a college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, on March 25, 2024.& (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) by Nwakerendu Waboso, Brock University and Taylor McKee, Brock University Women’s basketball superstars are standing at a crossroads for collegiate basketball, professional women’s sport, and the relationship between race and gender more broadly. Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship between Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa saw controversy arise when LSU’s Angel Reese made a hand gesture that many perceived as rude toward Iowa player Caitlin Clark. Reese, a Black woman, received immediate misogynoiristic backlash online for the gesture, despite Clark having made a similar gesture earlier in the game. The situation placed undue, uninvited stress and attention on both Reese and Clark and evoked the long history of racially-coded conflicts across sport. It prompted fans and critics to consider the social roles traditionally given to white and Black athletes and how these persisting expectations continue to inform broader perceptions of individual athletes. As this year’s NCAA tournament unfolds, it might yet again represent a new high water-mark for women’s sport as new...