Ball hawks: A look at the Uconn women’s history all-time vs. Iowa

Paige Bueckers vs. Caitlin Clark. Uconn vs. Iowa. It’s going to be a blockbuster showdown in the Final Four on Friday night, as the Huskies and Hawkeyes get set to face each other for just the third time ever, with all three meetings coming in the last four years. Clark was on the floor for both previous matchups, while Bueckers played in their first meeting in 2021, when both were freshmen, but missed the following season’s matchup after tearing her ACL in August 2022. It’s the type of matchup basketball fans everywhere be salivating over. Here’s a look at the brief, yet interesting history between the two programs.

March 27, 2021: Uconn 92, Iowa 72

Christyn Williams led all scorers with 27 points, the freshman duo of Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards each added 18, and top-seeded Uconn knocked out No. 5 Iowa in the Sweet 16 in the River Walk Regional in San

Antonio, Texas. Clark, who was also a freshman at the time, scored 21 points and added five assists for the Hawkeyes.

Uconn shot 54 percent from the field and 10-for-23 from 3-point range, and led throughout. They also got 17 points from Evina

Westbrook. Mckenna Warnock added 20 for Iowa, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t keep pace with the Huskies. Uconn moved to 27-1 on the season and would reach the Final Four for the 21st time in program history, but were upended in the national semifinals by Arizona.

Nov. 27, 2022- Uconn 86, Iowa 79

With Paige Bueckers out, Aaliyah Edwards and Azzi Fudd led the way as the Huskies downed the Hawykeyes again, this time in the championship game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland, Ore. Fudd finished with 24 points on 10 of 19 shooting while

Edwards added 20 and 13 rebounds. Caroline Ducharme also chipped in with 15 points off the bench for the Huskies. Clark scored 25 in this game, but shot just 2 of 11 from 3-point range and 9 of 24 from the field. Kate Martin added 20 for the Hawkeyes, who used a 27-15 blitz in the second quarter to take a 41-35 lead into halftime. Uconn responded though, as Geno Auriemma’s teams almost always do, with a 26-16 edge in the third quarter and closed out a seven-point win late.