CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 05: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reaches for the ball as Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies reacts in the second half during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 05, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Caitlin Clark, Iowa survive against UConn
A stifling UConn defense held Caitlin Clark and Iowa to their worst first half of the season.
It wasn’t enough.
The Hawkeyes found their footing in the third quarter and then battled through the fourth to rally past the Huskies for a 71-69 win to secure a trip to the national championship game. Iowa looked in control while holding a three-possession late in the fourth quarter. But victory wasn’t in hand until a late UConn turnover on a controversial offensive foul.
Read the full story from Jason Owens right here.
No. 1 South Carolina is still undefeated and advancing to the NCAA tournament championship game after a 78-59 win over No. 3 NC State on Friday.
Projected WNBA lottery pick Kamilla Cardoso led the Gamecocks with 22 points and 11 rebounds despite an injury scare in the second quarter. Sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins contributed a whopping 20 rebounds from the bench.
NC State’s story this season has been all about exceeding expectations, and that trend continued through the first half of the team’s Final Four matchup with the Gamecocks. Twenty minutes into Friday’s game, the Wolfpack showcased how they were able to upset No. 2 seed Stanford and No. 1 seed Texas in the tournament.
Read the full story from Callie Lawson-Freeman right here.
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Iowa soaking it in after earning a second straight trip to the national title game.
Final: Iowa 71, UConn 69
Caitlin Clark had to grind through a full game with Nika Muhl on her, but Hannah Stuelke came up huge as Iowa notches a Final Four comeback win.
Their reward will be a date with undefeated, No. 1 overall seed on Sunday.
She makes the first, misses the second, but Iowa gets the rebound. It results in a held ball, but Iowa has the possession arrow! 1.1 seconds left, 71-69 Iowa.
Caitlin Clarks gets the inbound and will shoot free throws.
That call was pretty iffy, and it might decide what has been a wild game.
WHOA. The refs call an offensive foul on Aaliyah Edwards and it’ll be Iowa ball up 1 with 3.9 seconds left. Looks like it was a hard screen on Gabby Marshall.
Caitlin Clark gets the ball with 39 seconds left and opts to burn clock, but the possession results in a turnover. It’ll be UConn ball with 9.3 seconds left. Here we go.
What a huge play for UConn. The Huskies pressure Hannah Stuelke up top and come away with a steal, then Nika Muhl hits a 3-pointer to make it 70-69. After a slow start, this is definitely a game.
After a couple of big Kate Martin baskets and an empty possession for UConn, it’s 70-66 Iowa with a minute remaining. And now UConn starts fouling?
A Nika Muhl steal and Paige Bueckers 3 cuts it to 66-62 Iowa. Huskies aren’t going away.
It’s a 2-pointer, 66-57 Iowa. Basically a free timeout for UConn after a bad sequence too.
Ice Brady and Nika Muhl have both missed wide-open 3s while Iowa extends the lead to double digits 67-57. Refs are taking a look to see if Gabbie Marshall’s was actually a 2, but the Huskies are in a bad place either way
The sell-out announcement is made to the crowd: 18,284
Among the celebs in attendance: Darius Rucker, Machine Gun Kelly, Kylie Kelce, Jason Sudeikis, Cheryl Miller, Nancy Lieberman, Maya Moore-Irons, Seimone Augustus, basically all of the active USA Basketball team
And now Clark draws Ice Brady’s fourth foul of the game. She’s starting to have that look
Caitlin Clark drills another three to give Iowa its first two-possession lead of the game.
Four players not named Clark or Buckers to watch down the final 10 minutes:
UConn: Nika Muhl is playing key defense against Clark and stayed out of foul trouble. She also has five assists. KK Arnold is in foul trouble with four. The freshman has played the efficient game for the Huskies and is second on the team with 12 points and four assists.
Iowa: Hannah Stuelke is the offense right now. Keep feeding her. Sydney Affolter is making big buckets at the right moments.
We’re all tied 51-51 after three quarters. Caitlin Clark is up to 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Hannah Stuelke leads all scorers with 19 points.
Muhl is back in the game, while Martin is back on the bench.
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