MVP Arena in Albany, New York has played host to some high-level basketball as the NCAA Women’s Tournament reaches a decisive phase. But all eyes were on Monday night’s regional final between the third-seeded LSU Tigers and the top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes, a rematch of last season’s national championship game and perhaps the most highly-anticipated game in the history of women’s college basketball.
Last year’s national final went LSU’s way, a 102-85 victory that completed the Tigers’ surprising run to the championship and made power forward Angel Reese a national star. But the rematch? It went Caitlin Clark’s way, as Iowa’s superstar guard dropped 41 points and tied a tournament record with nine three-pointers in a 94-87 win, which sends the Hawkeyes to Cleveland for a second consecutive Final Four.
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Redemption for “ridiculous” Clark and the Hawkeyes
Clark was so good on Monday night that social media could not stop talking about her performance. In addition to her 41 points, Clark grabbed 12 assists and seven rebounds. The WNBA even posted on X (formerly Twitter) that her display was — in a word — “ridiculous.”
Clark knocked down four threes in the third quarter for all 12 of her points in the frame, and she provided three assists as the Hawkeyes outscored the Tigers 24-13 in the quarter. It was a departure from her inefficient, pass-first opening 20 minutes, and LSU never really got up off the mat in what could go down as a key part of Clark’s NCAA legacy.
Clark’s nine three-pointers were one more than LSU made as an entire team, and part of a night in which Iowa shot 46 percent overall to 39 percent for its opponents — even though the Tigers attempted 19 more shots than the Hawkeyes, thanks to their plus-18 advantage on the boards.
Iowa took advantage of changes in possession, too, scoring 16 points off LSU’s 13 turnovers. But in the end, the Hawkeyes had the single best player on the floor — and she was in no mood to lose to Reese and company again.
Disappointment for the Tigers
After grinding out a victory over the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, LSU was confident it could defeat Iowa one more time and keep its repeat dreams alive. But the Hawkeyes’ third-quarter onslaught changed the game entirely, and the Tigers did not have the shooters to keep up.
Making matters worse? Reese’s night ended early after she fouled out with 1:45 remaining and the Tigers still down double-digits. If this was Reese’s final NCAA game, she will have some regrets about her inefficiency (7-of-21 shooting) and the result, but she scored 17 points and hauled in 20 rebounds.
But even if Reese heads to the WNBA this month, LSU is in position to be one of the strongest teams in the country again next year. Head coach Kim Mulkey is expected to retain guard Flau’jae Johnson and forward Aneesah Morrow, while the program’s success has made it a popular destination for players in the transfer portal.
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