Caitlin Clark leads Iowa back to Final Four
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Caitlin Clark put up another sensational performance to carry Iowa to its second straight Final Four.
The Hawkeyes' superstar guard, whose record-breaking exploits have brought unprecedented attention to women's basketball, made nine 3-pointers and finished with 41 points and 12 assists as Iowa knocked defending national champion LSU out of the NCAA Tournament with a 94-87 victory on Monday night.
“It's amazing to be back in the Final Four. It's so hard to get back there,” Clark said. “This region was really hard, but we told ourselves we are the one seed for a reason.”
Top-seeded Iowa (33-4) will play UConn in the national semifinals Friday night in Cleveland.
Monday's highly anticipated matchup was a rematch of last year's national championship game won by LSU, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers.
Both teams wished that this meeting had come later in the tournament instead of with a Final Four berth at stake, but that was out of their control.
Clark, who also scored 41 points in the regional final last year, and Angel Reese of LSU put on a memorable show for the sold-out crowd and the millions watching.
“I think it's just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history. Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages,” said Reese, who had 17 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 left. “And just being able to be a part of history is great. Playing against another great player, of course, is always amazing.”
With the game tied at 45 after an entertaining first half, Clark took over in the third quarter. The NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader hit four 3-pointers, each deeper than the previous one. Her fourth of the quarter, from her signature logo range, made it 61-52. It also was the 538th of her career, which made her the alltime leader in that category among NCAA Division I players, passing Oklahoma's Taylor Robertson.
Flau'jae Johnson scored 23 points for No. 3 seed LSU (316), which fell short of becoming the first repeat champion since UConn in 2016.
Kate Martin scored 21 points for Iowa and Sydney Affolter added 16.
UCONN 80, USC 73, AT PORTLAND >> After being a spectator a year ago, Paige Bueckers is headed back to the Final Four after scoring 28 points and lifting UConn to a win over Southern California.
Bueckers outdueled fabulous USC freshman All-American JuJu Watkins, sparking a decisive run over the final five minutes that sent third-seeded UConn (335) to its 23rd national semifinal, the most of any school. Leading 65-64, the Huskies scored 11 straight points, including seven from Bueckers and a three-point play from Aaliyah Edwards to finally put away the top-seeded Trojans (29-6).