CNN
—
A national championship is on the line in Caitlin Clark's last game in an Iowa State uniform. And they will be facing a team that is potentially on the verge of a dynasty.
On Friday, No. 1 Iowa survived a scare from No. 3 Connecticut, 71-69, in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, just barely making it to the women's NCAA Tournament national championship game. advanced.
The Hawkeyes will face undefeated and No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in Sunday's title game. The Gamecocks, led by center Camila Cardoso and a strong third quarter, defeated No. 3 North Carolina State 78-59 in the semifinals earlier in the night.
In 2023, Clark and the Hawkeyes narrowly missed the national title game, losing 102-85 to Angel Reese and LSU. Now, coming off a record-breaking season, Clark could end her college career as a champion and bring Iowa State its first national title in women's or men's basketball.
Among the records she set, Clark ranks as the most career points scored by a male or female in Division I history. Considered a generational talent, the 22-year-old is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the April 15 WNBA Draft.
The University of South Carolina, 108-3 over the past three seasons, is back in the national championship game for the first time since 2022, when it won its second national title in program history. This is Shamcock's fourth consecutive Final Four appearance and a chance to win his third national title in seven years.
A year ago, South Carolina's only loss of the season was in the Final Four against Iowa State.
“South Carolina is at the top of the top,” Clark said. “They're in a different league. We're going to do everything we can to be there with them. But yeah, I think the most important thing is to enjoy tonight and go scout early in the morning.” go.”
Against UW, Clark overcame a first-half shooting slump to finish with 21 points. Hannah Stuelke scored a game-high 23 points.
Friday night's game between Iowa and UW was expected to be a shooting show for Clark and Huskies star Paige Bueckers.
Instead, Clark and Iowa had to overcome a gritty college defense and a Huskies team that would never lose.
Clark didn't make any 3-point shots in the first half, going 0-for-6, and was held to just six points in the first two quarters.
In the first half, Iowa turned the ball over 12 times, while UW had 11 steals and led by as many as 12 points.
But Iowa closed in as the first half ended. The Huskies entered halftime with a 32-26 lead. At the end of the third quarter, the score was tied at 51-51.
At first, it looked like Iowa would pull away in the fourth inning. But the University Conns held on, cutting Iowa's lead to 70-69 on Nika Mule's 3-pointer with 49 seconds left. A steal by KK Arnold gave University the ball with 9.3 seconds left, but an offensive foul on Aliyah Edwards (a controversial call) gave the ball back to the Hawkeyes.
With 3.1 seconds left, the Buccaneers fouled Clark. Clark made the first free throw to make it 71-69, but missed the second. Both teams battled for the ball, and Iowa held the ball with a possession arrow. A successful inbounds play gave Iowa the victory.
Bueckers and Edwards each finished with 17 points. Arnold had 14.
It was an NCAA record 23rd Final Four appearance for the Huskies, an 11-time national champion under head coach Geno Auriemma, and 15th of the past 16 NCAA Tournaments.
However, this may have been the team's least chance of making it to the Final Four, as UW's roster was depleted after being hit by injuries this season. The Huskies were on fire during the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 1 USC to advance to the Final Four.
See in photos: Iowa and South Carolina win in Women's Final Four
“UConn is a really good defensive team, one of the best defensive teams we've seen all year,” Clark said. “I think Nika has done a great job of protecting me.
“We got some good looks. They just didn't go in, and sometimes that happens. We missed a few easy bunnies near the rim.
“But the best thing about our group is that when we got into the locker room at halftime, it wasn't like, oh, come on, we've got to make a shot. It was like, no, the ball. I was told that if I stopped flipping it over, I would be completely fine.
“At one point we knew our shots were going to fall. We put up 45 points in the second half and 25 in the third quarter. We came out in the fourth quarter and got off to a really hot start.
“So I don't think it was like we were panicking that the offense wasn't working. I think it was just that it was going to come at some point. We didn't have a great performance and we were down by just six points. We were really confident in that. No one panicked. We all knew we needed to clean it up a little bit, and that's exactly what we did.”
Despite being the top overall seed, the only undefeated women's college basketball team, and a deep roster, No. 1 South Carolina seemed to fly under the radar throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Perhaps things will change on Sunday.
With Friday's win over North Carolina State, South Carolina improved to 37-0. To improve to 38-0, the Gamecocks need to beat Clark and the Hawkeyes.
In Friday's Final Four win, South Carolina's Cardoso, who announced Monday that he was entering the WNBA draft, scored 22 points on 10-of-12 field goals and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 center started 6-for-6 from the field and led all scorers with 16 points in the first half.
However, with just over two minutes left until halftime, there was cause for concern. Cardoso showed up limping trying to drive to the basket and limped to the locker room with 1:39 left in the quarter. South Carolina entered the break leading 32-31.
However, once Cardoso returned at the start of the second half, South Carolina continued to thrive, outscoring the Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter and ending the period on a 17-1 run.
With the game trailing 61-37 at that point, head coach Dawn Staley benched Cardoso until the fourth quarter.
“So you're playing to your strengths,” Staley told reporters. “Camila is a strength for us. She's 6 feet 7 inches tall. She's agile. She can command the paint. She plays with a desire to win.”
Staley later said of Cardoso: And I think she's still in the early stages of greatness. I think you can see her play better when she's with professional players. ”
Ashlyn Watkins had 20 rebounds and eight points, and Raven Johnson had 13 points and five assists. Tehina Paopao added 10 points and six assists.
This was an NCAA Tournament filled with star power, including Clark of Iowa, Buccaneers of UW, Reese of LSU, and JuJu Watkins of the University of Southern California, to name a few. Meanwhile, South Carolina continues to win.
A dream season for North Carolina State ends with a record of 31 wins and 7 losses. This is the Wolfpack's second trip to the Final Four, and first since 1998.
Asiaha James led North Carolina State with 20 points.
