Clark, Iowa survive test from West Virginia
Mountaineers’ defense stymies Hawkeyes, who need late surge to win
Caitlin Clark circled her home court one final time, making a heart-shaped symbol with her hands as the sellout crowd cheered.
Iowa’s superstar guard scored 32 points to help the No. 1 seed survive one of its worst offensive performances of the season to beat No. 8 seed West Virginia 64-54 Monday night in Iowa City, advancing to the Sweet 16.
It was a serious scare for the Hawkeyes, thanks in large part to Mountaineers standout guard JJ Quinerly, a Lake Taylor High graduate. Quinerly led West Virginia (25-8) with 15 points.
“Our defense has been our identity all year,” she said. “That just speaks to how tough and resilient we are.”
Iowa seemed to have control after an 8-0 run over the final 1:25 of the third quarter gave the Hawkeyes a 48-38 lead. But West Virginia opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to tie the game with 5:18 to play, setting up the final minutes.
The Hawkeyes (31-4) advanced to play No. 5 seed Colorado in Saturday’s Albany 2 Regional semifinal.
Sydney Affolter’s three-point play with 2:03 to play — the Hawkeyes’ lone field goal of the fourth quarter — gave Iowa a 55-52 lead.
Clark and Hannah Stuelke closed the game with nine free throws to clinch the win. The Hawkeyes were 14 of 17 from the line in the final quarter, while the Mountaineers took just one free throw.
“I think we used our crowd,” Clark said of the final stretch. “We gave up a 10-0 run to start the quarter, but this team was never flustered. It speaks to our experience. … Wanted to go out on a high note.”
Clark hit two free throws near the end of the game to break the single-season NCAA Division I scoring record of 1,109 held by Kelsey Plum.
This game was not nearly as easy of a win, but it’s something the Hawkeyes have been used to in the second round in the past two NCAA Tournaments after losing to 10th seed Creighton in 2022 and making plays late to defeat Georgia last season.
UConn 72, Syracuse 64: Paige Bueckers tied her season high with 32 points, freshman Ashlynn Shade added 19 and No. 3 seed UConn held off Syracuse at home to earn a 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16.
It was the All-American’s fifth straight game with at least 25 points and seventh in her past eight games.
Aaliyah Edwards finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds and KK Arnold had 10 points, including a key 3-pointer late in the game, to help seal the win for the Huskies (31-5).
Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half as Syracuse (24-8) came back from a 12-point first-half deficit to pull within two with just under two minutes left. But the Orange missed four 3-point attempts down the stretch and UConn scored seven of the game’s final eight points.
Southern Cal 73, Kansas 55: JuJu Watkins had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and top-seeded Southern California led all the way in defeating Kansas at home to reach the Sweet 16.
McKenzie Forbes hit a careerhigh six 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Trojans (28-5), who will face fifth-seeded Baylor (26-7) in the Portland Region 3 in Oregon on Saturday.
USC last went this deep when it reached the Elite Eight in 1994, 10 years after the school won the second of its back-to-back national championships.
Freshman S’Mya Nichols scored 22 points to lead the Jayhawks (20-13). Taiyanna Jackson had 10 points and 18 rebounds. Kansas fell to 0-6 all-time when facing a No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Indiana 75, Oklahoma 68: Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points, including six in a row, to give fourth-seeded Indiana a late lead as the Hoosiers rallied past fifthseeded Oklahoma in Bloomington.
Sydney Parrish added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Hoosiers (26-6), who advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years and now face undefeated South Carolina in Albany, New York.
Big 12 Player of the Year Skylar Vann led the Sooners (23-10) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
The more than 12,000 fans in Assembly Hall roared loudly in the final minutes — and after the final buzzer — as the Hoosiers seized control to avoid a repeat of last March’s shocking second-round loss to Miami.
Gonzaga 77, Utah 66: Kayleigh Truong scored 21 points, Yvonne Ejim added 17 points and 13 rebounds and fourth-seeded Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly a decade by beating No. 5 seed Utah at home.
The Zags used a barrage of 3-point shooting in the second and third quarters to overcome an early deficit and advanced to their first regional semifinal since 2015. Gonzaga (32-3) won its 36th consecutive game at home and will face top-seeded Texas in the Portland 4 Regional semifinal on Friday in Portland, Oregon.
Gonzaga received contributions from throughout the lineup. Truong and twin sister Kaylynne were on the mark from the perimeter as the Bulldogs hit 12 3-pointers in the first three quarters and led by as many as 21.
Alissa Pili led Utah (23-11) with 35 points, her fifth 30-point game of the season.
UCLA 67, Creighton 63: Kiki Rice scored 24 points, Lauren Betts had 20 points and 10 rebounds and second-seeded UCLA rallied in the second half for a home victory over seventh-seeded Creighton.
The Bruins (27-6), who trailed by 10 points early in the third quarter, will face third-seeded LSU in an Albany 2 Regional semifinal Saturday afternoon.
Lauren Jensen scored 20 points and Morgan Maly added 18 for the Bluejays (26-6).