Clark, Iowa earn title shot against Gamecocks
CLEVELAND — Caitlin Clark led Iowa back to the national championship game, scoring 21 points as the Hawkeyes rallied past Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.
Next up for the Hawkeyes (34-4) is a rematch with unbeaten South Carolina, which lost to Iowa in last year’s national semifinals. The Hawkeyes then fell short of winning the school’s first championship, falling to LSU in the title game last season. Now Clark is one win away from bringing her home state its first women’s basketball title in the final game of her college career.
After a rough opening 30 minutes because of a swarming UConn defense, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer finally got going in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied at 51-all, Clark scored seven points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the period to give Iowa a small cushion. UConn (33-6) got within 60-57 before the Hawkeyes scored six straight to take a 66-57 advantage.
UConn trailed 70-66 before Nika Muhl hit a 3-pointer after a steal with 39.3 seconds left to get the Huskies within one.
Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke turned it over with 10 seconds left. UConn had a chance to take the lead, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen with 4.6 seconds left.
Stuelke scored 23 points to lead Iowa.
Bueckers and Edwards each scored 17 points for the Huskies.
SOUTH CAROLINA 78, NC STATE 59: Perfectly dominant. Nothing new for South Carolina.
With All-America center Kamilla Cardoso scoring 22 points, the Gamecocks emphatically kept their unbeaten season going, advancing to the championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-59 victory over North Carolina State on Friday night.
The talented and tenacious Gamecocks (37-0) led by just one at halftime before putting their full arsenal on display in the third quarter. They clamped down on defense, started knocking down 3-pointers and outscored the Wolfpack 29-6 to turn what had been a tense matchup into another one of their blowouts.
“We turned up the heat,” coach Dawn Staley said.
South Carolina will meet the winner of the second Final Four game between Iowa and UConn — a matchup featuring stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers that has created a buzz across America — for the national title on Sunday.
Whichever of those teams survives will have its hands full. South Carolina appears to be on a mission.
“I could tell by our faces and voices,” said Gamecocks forward Ashlyn Watkins, who had 20 rebounds. “We wanted it more.”
Aziaha James scored 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting for No. 3 seed N.C. State (31-7), which knocked off a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed to get to Cleveland.
But the Wolfpack had no shot against the Gamecocks, who were a unanimous No. 1 most of the season in the AP Top 25 and are aiming to become the first undefeated national champions since UConn in 2016. They look all but invincible. “They just punched us in the mouth in the third quarter,” James said. “I felt like the third quarter really hurt us. I feel like we could have fought harder. It was 6-29. We can’t let things like that happen to win a championship.”
Cardoso added 11 rebounds while playing just 23 minutes.
She hurt her right leg late in the first half and returned in the third quarter, wearing a black compression sleeve. Staley had the luxury of resting her star center in the fourth quarter to make sure she’s ready for Sunday.
“She’s not going to like this answer, but she’s a beautiful Brazilian warrior,” Gamecocks guard Te-Hina Paopao said of Cardoso. “She’s just awesome, man. She’s going to play through some pain. She’s going to push through that. Knowing we have one more game, she’s definitely going to be OK.”
Watkins was just as dominant inside for the Gamecocks, getting 15 of her boards on the defensive end and scoring eight points. Raven Johnson added 13 points.
Saniya Rivers, who transferred from South Carolina to N.C. State after winning a title as a freshman, shot just 2 of 11 and had five turnovers as her former teammates made every touch a tough one.
N.C. State coach Wes Moore knew his team would have to play its best to have any chance of bringing down bigger, badder South Carolina.
On Thursday, he likened the semifinal to a David-vs.-Goliath matchup and promised his team would “put the stone in the sling and let it rip.”
The Wolfpack needed more than stones.
“I’ll probably throw up a few times when I watch that third quarter,” said Moore, who regretted not switching to a zone defense earlier. “I don’t feel like a very good coach after that butt-kickin’.”