In Cleveland, Caitlin Clark guided Iowa to the national championship game by scoring 21 points as the Hawkeyes came from behind to beat Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.
Iowa will face unbeaten South Carolina next, in a rematch from last year’s national semifinals, which Iowa won. The Hawkeyes then lost to LSU in the final. Now Clark is one win away from giving her home state its first women’s basketball title in the final game of her college career.
The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer had a tough time due to UConn's strong defense for the first 30 minutes, but finally got going in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied at 51, Clark scored seven points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the period to give Iowa a slight lead. UConn (33-6) closed the gap to 60-57 before the Hawkeyes scored six consecutive points to take a 66-57 lead.
UConn was behind 70-66 when Nika Muhl made a 3-pointer after a steal with 39.3 seconds left to bring the Huskies within one.
Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke turned the ball over with 10 seconds remaining. UConn had an opportunity to take the lead, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen with 4.6 seconds left.
Clark made the first of two free throws before missing the second. Her teammate Sydney Affolter grabbed the rebound, and UConn tied her up, resulting in a jump ball. The possession arrow kept the ball with the Hawkeyes, who secured the win by throwing the ball in the air to run out the final seconds.
Stuelke scored 23 points to lead Iowa. Clark finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.
Bueckers and Edwards each scored 17 points for the Huskies, who returned to the Final Four after a one-year break that ended their 14-year run in the national semifinals. This might have been the best coaching job by Geno Auriemma. UConn had hoped to win the 12th title in school history this season, but those aspirations were quickly dashed by a series of injuries that affected almost half of its roster.
Despite this, Bueckers, the national player of the year as a freshman in 2021, who returned to form after missing a full season and part of another due to injuries, carried the Huskies back into contention for the title.
UConn started strong behind Bueckers and excellent defense by Nika Muhl and her teammates, who aggressively defended Clark every time she got the ball. The Huskies were ahead by 12 points in the second quarter.
Iowa was behind by six at halftime before picking up momentum in the third quarter led by their star player. She made her first 3-pointer of the game 2 minutes into the period, and then her four-point play brought Iowa within one. The Hawkeyes then took the lead later in the period, just before Kate Martin got hit in the face by Edwards, resulting in a bloody nose. She ran off the court, leaving a trail of blood behind her.
Martin returned to the Iowa bench before the court was fully cleaned. She then made three crucial baskets towards the end of the game.
Clark struggled in the first half, only scoring six points and missing all six of her 3-point attempts. She had very few opportunities to take open shots and seemed frustrated at times. Iowa’s coaches continued to offer words of encouragement to their star player.
Although she wasn’t putting points on the board, Clark contributed to the Hawkeyes' performance with six rebounds and four assists, even as they were behind 32-26 at halftime.
