Women’s Final Four: Iowa, Caitlin Clark advance to women’s national title game to face South Carolina

CNN
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Caitlin Clark’s final game in an Iowa uniform will be with a national championship on the line. And it’s going to come against a team potentially on the verge of a dynasty.

No. 1 Iowa narrowly advanced to the women’s NCAA tournament national championship game after surviving a scare from No. 3 Connecticut, 71-69, in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday.

The Hawkeyes will face undefeated and No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in Sunday’s title game. The Gamecocks, powered by their center Kamilla Cardoso and a strong third quarter, defeated No. 3 NC State 78-59 in the earlier semifinal of the night.

In 2023, Clark and the Hawkeyes came up short in the national title game, losing to Angel Reese and LSU 102-85. This time, Clark – in a record-breaking season – could end her college career as a champion and give Iowa its first national title in women’s or men’s basketball.

Among the records she has set, Clark has the most career points in Division I history for women and men. Seen as a generational talent, the 22-year-old is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 15.

South Carolina, now 108-3 in the last three seasons, is back in the national championship game for the first time since 2022, when it won the national title for the second time in program history. This is the Gamecocks’ fourth consecutive Final Four appearance and a chance for them to win their third national title in seven years.

A year ago, South Carolina’s lone loss of the season came against Iowa, in the Final Four.

“South Carolina has been the top of the top,” Clark said. “They’re in a different league. We’re going to do everything we can to try to be right there with them. But, yeah, I think the biggest thing is enjoy this tonight and we’ll go over the scout early in the morning.”

Against UConn, Clark overcame a poor first-half shooting performance to finish with 21 points. Hannah Stuelke had a game-high 23 points.

There was anticipation that Friday night’s game between Iowa and UConn could be a shooting showcase between Clark and Huskies star Paige Bueckers.

Instead, Clark and Iowa had to overcome a gritty UConn defense and a Huskies’ team that would not go away.

Clark failed to make a three-point shot in the first half, going 0-for-6, and was held to six points in the first two quarters.

In the first half, Iowa turned the ball over 12 times, while UConn had 11 steals and led by as many as 12 points.

But Iowa pulled close as the half wound down. The Huskies went into halftime with a 32-26 lead. By the end of the third quarter, it was tied at 51-51.

At first, it looked like Iowa was going to pull away in the fourth. But UConn stayed in it, and a three-pointer by Nika Mühl cut Iowa’s lead to 70-69 with 49 seconds to go. A steal by KK Arnold gave UConn the ball with 9.3 seconds left, but an offensive foul – a controversial call – on Aaliyah Edwards gave the ball back to the Hawkeyes.

Bueckers fouled Clark with 3.1 seconds left. Clark made her first free throw to make it 71-69, but she missed the second. The teams battled for the ball, and Iowa retained it by having the possession arrow. With a successful inbounds play, Iowa hung on for the win.

Bueckers and Edwards each finished with 17 points. Arnold had 14.

It was an NCAA-record 23rd Final Four appearance – and 15th in the last 16 NCAA tournaments – for the 11-time national champion Huskies, all under head coach Geno Auriemma.

But it might have been the most unlikely Final Four trip of them all, as UConn, decimated by injuries this season, had a depleted roster. The Huskies got hot during the NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four by outdueling No. 1 USC.

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The Iowa Hawkeyes celebrate after beating the UConn Huskies 71-69 in a Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Friday in Cleveland.

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Iowa’s Caitlin Clark celebrates after the game. Clark finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

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The Hawkeyes celebrate as the Huskies walk off the court after the game.

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Clark shoots a free throw in final moments of the game.

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UConn guard Paige Bueckers lays on the floor in the second half.

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Clark listens to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder during the second half.

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Ice Brady of the UConn Huskies shoots the ball.

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Iowa’s Kate Martin gives a thumbs up after sustaining an injury in the second half.

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Martin jumps to defend a shot by Bueckers.

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Iowa Hawkeyes fans hold up signs during the game.

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Iowa players react from the bench during the second half.

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Bluder reacts in the second half.

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Bueckers fights for a loose ball with Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall during the first half. The Huskies held a 32-26 lead at halftime.

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UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards looks to shoot in the first half. Edwards scored 17 points during the game.

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Nika Mühl of the UConn Huskies reacts after a foul in the first half.

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UConn’s KK Arnold shoots the ball over Clark.

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Martin is fouled by Edwards during the first half.

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Martin and Arnold #2 of the UConn Huskies fight for the ball.

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Clark shoots the ball over UConn’s Ashlynn Shade. UConn held Clark to six points, while shooting 3-of-11 from the field, including 0-6 from the three-point line.

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Iowa Hawkeyes huddle at the beginning of the game.

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The Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is pictured in the first half of Iowa’s game against UConn.

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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and guard Bree Hall celebrate after defeating the NC State Wolfpack 78-59 in the Final Four of the women’s tournament

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NC State’s Zoe Brooks walks off the court after losing to the Gamecocks.

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South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins shoots the ball in the second half. Watkins scored eight points during the game.

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Staley reacts during the game.

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Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley controls the ball in the third quarter. Fulwiley scored seven points during the game.

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NC State’s River Baldwin fights Chloe Kitts of South Carolina for possession of the ball in the second half.

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Hall celebrates after making a three-point basket during the second half.

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South Carolina’s Sania Feagin attempts a lay up while guarded by Baldwin.

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North Carolina State head coach Wes Moore directs his team during the second half.

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South Carolina’s Raven Johnson drives around Zoe Brooks of NC State during the first half. The Gamecocks let 32-31 at halftime.

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Katie Peneueta of the NC State Wolfpack looks for an opening during the first half.

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Fulwiley and Brooks battle for the ball in the second quarter.

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NC State’s Saniya Rivers moves the ball down court while South Carolina’s Raven Johnson guards in the first quarter.

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Kamilla Cardoso of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Saniya Rivers jump for the opening tipoff.

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Cocky the South Carolina Gamecocks mascot cheers before the game.

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NC State Wolfpack players huddle together before tipoff.

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South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao walks onto the court during player introductions ahead of the game.

“UConn is a really good defensive team, one of the best defensive teams we’ve seen all year,” Clark said. “I think Nika did a tremendous job guarding me.

“We got some good looks. They just didn’t go in. And sometimes that’s just what happens. We missed some easy bunnies around the rim.

“But I think the best thing about our group is we went into the locker room at halftime and it wasn’t, like, oh, come on, you’ve got to make shots. It was, no, stop turning the ball over and you’re going to be perfectly fine.

“We knew at some point our shots would go down. We put up 45 points in the second half, 25 in the third quarter. Came out in the fourth quarter, started really hot.

“So I don’t think it was like a freaking out about offense not working. I think it was just a it will come around. We didn’t execute great, and we were only down six. We felt really confident in that. Nobody panicked. Everybody knew we just needed to clean it up a little bit, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Despite being the top overall seed, the lone women’s college basketball team undefeated, and a roster with depth, No. 1 South Carolina has seemingly flown under the radar throughout the NCAA tournament.

Perhaps that will change Sunday.

With the win against NC State on Friday, South Carolina is now 37-0. To get to 38-0, the Gamecocks will have to take down Clark and the Hawkeyes.

In Friday’s Final Four win, South Carolina’s Cardoso, who on Monday announced she would enter the WNBA draft, finished with 22 points, going 10-of-12 from the field, to go with 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-7-inch center started the game 6-for-6 from the field and led all scorers with 16 in the first half.

There was cause of concern, however, with just over 2 minutes to go before halftime. Cardoso came up limping after attempting to drive to the basket and hobbled to the locker room with 1:39 left in the quarter. South Carolina took a 32-31 lead into the break.

But Cardoso would return for the start of the second half, and South Carolina came out firing, outscoring the Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter and ending the period on a 17-1 run.

By then, the game was out of reach at 61-37, and head coach Dawn Staley kept Cardoso on the bench for the fourth quarter.

“I mean, you play to your strengths,” Staley told reporters. “Kamilla is a strength of ours. She’s 6’7”. She’s agile. She can command the paint. She plays with a desire to win.”

Staley later said of Cardoso: “Greatness is a process. And she’s still very much in, I think, in the beginning stages of her greatness. I think you’ll see her play a lot better when she’s with pro players.”

Ashlyn Watkins pulled in 20 rebounds to go with eight points, while Raven Johnson had 13 points and five assists. Te-Hina Paopao added 10 points and six assists.

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South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso shoots the ball against the NC State Wolfpack in the first half.

This has been an NCAA tournament full of star power, with Iowa’s Clark, UConn’s Bueckers, LSU’s Reese and USC’s JuJu Watkins, just to name a few. Meanwhile, South Carolina just keeps winning.

For NC State, a dream season ends at 31-7. This was the Wolfpack’s second trip to the Final Four and the first since 1998.

Aziaha James led NC State with 20 points.