CLEVELAND — The battle between Iowa and UConn at the Final Four came down to its last crucial — and bizarre — moments.
In the end, the top-seeded Hawkeyes and national player of the year Caitlin Clark emerged with a 71-69 victory over the third-seeded Huskies on Friday night, sending Iowa to its second consecutive national final.
The Hawkeyes (34-4) will oppose another No. 1 seed, South Carolina (37-0) in the championship game on Sunday. It will be in a rematch of one of last season’s national semifinals.
With UConn down by one point and nine seconds left, the Huskies’ KK Arnold stole the ball. However, on the ensuing possession, the referees whistled UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards for an illegal screen with 3.9 seconds left, handing the ball back to Iowa.
Clark was fouled, hit the first free throw and missed the next, but Iowa got the rebound with 1.1 seconds to go. On the second of two inbounds plays, the Hawkeyes got a pass in to clinch the win.
Clark collected 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Hawkeyes over No. 3 UConn 71-69 on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
The scoring total tied Clark’s season low, posted previously when she played just 26 minutes in a November rout of Florida Gulf Coast. Against UConn, she shot just 7-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Hannah Stuelke picked up the scoring load for the Hawkeyes, tallying 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
The Huskies (33-6) were powered by 17 points apiece from Edwards and Paige Bueckers, while Arnold added 14 points.
UConn led by as much as 12 points in the first half and was effective early on at stifling and frustrating Clark, the all-time leading scorer among men and women in the history of Division I college basketball. The Iowa megastar finished the first half with just six points on 3-of-11 shooting, including an 0-for-6 mark on 3-point attempts.
In the third quarter, Stuelke took over for Iowa, scoring 11 points. Her offensive rebound late in the frame turned into second-chance points for Sydney Affolter, giving Iowa a brief two-point advantage. A layup by Edwards sent the game into the final period tied at 51-51.
Stuelke opened the fourth with a layup, and Clark then sent the crowd into a frenzy by swishing a step-back 3-pointer with a UConn defender guarding her closely. Those two baskets were the start of a 15-6 Iowa run, giving the Hawkeyes a nine-point lead with less than six minutes to go.
UConn charged back. Nika Muhl’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 41 seconds left trimmed Iowa’s lead to a single point. Then, after all the chaos, Clark’s free throw produced the final point of the game.
–Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media