Baylor Helps ESPN Score With NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
Odyssey Sims #0 of the Baylor Bears
The Baylor University women's basketball team made history in the NCAA title game Tuesday night, giving ESPN a slam dunk in the ratings. With 4.24 million viewers, the game ranks as the most viewed national championship final since 2004 (when 5.58 million watched Connecticut defeated Tennessee). Led by 6-foot-8 national player of the year Brittney Griner, the Lady Bears thrashed Notre Dame, 80-61 to complete the first 40-0 season in NCAA history (men's or women's).
The title game's audience was up 11 percent over 2011, when 3.83 million watched Texas A&M defeat Notre Dame. But overall viewership for the 2012 tournament was down slightly, averaging 1.84 million, versus 1.88 million last year.
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