UConn falls short against Caitlin Clark, Iowa in 71-69 Final Four loss
It was a tale of two halves as UConn's defense frustrated Caitlin Clark but Iowa survived, thanks to a controversial foul call, with a 71-69 win to advance to the NCAA Women's Championship.
Here are the takeaways...
-Defense was the name of the game in the first half. Nika Muhl had the tall task of guarding Clark, but she wasn’t alone. UConn did a great job of giving Muhl help whenever Clark drove down the lane or used a pick to try and get an open three attempt.
They forced eight turnovers in the first quarter and kept Clark to 1-of-5 shooting including 0-for-3 from three. That’s the fewest points (2) in a quarter of Clark’s career in an NCAA Tournament game. She only had six points (3-11) and 0-for-6 from three at halftime. She did pick up six rebounds and dished four assists in the first half.
Iowa scored just 26 points, the lowest-scoring half from them this year and the first time Clark hasn’t hit a three-pointer in the first half in 15 tournament games.
-Iowa seemingly had the same game plan for Paige Bueckers as she was often double-teamed. She went 1-for-4 (0-for-1 from three) in the first quarter, but unlike Clark, her teammates picked her up by making shots. Freshman guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade combined for 11 points in the opening frame and 15 in the first half. Despite the great defense, Iowa was only down 32-26 at halftime thanks to a 12-2 run in the final minutes.
-Iowa turned the game around in the third quarter as they used Clark as a decoy or she would find her teammates, who started knocking down shots. Iowa turned defense into offense by getting into transition much more often. They also were much more careful with the ball. After turning the ball over 12 times in the first half, they had zero in the third quarter.
The same was the case in the fourth quarter as Iowa continued to take care of the ball and players not named Clark made shots. The Hawkeyes built a sizeable lead but UConn stayed resilient and chipped away at Iowa's lead. A big three from Muhl and a steal from Arnold gave UConn the ball down 69-70. However, on UConn's final possession, Edwards was called for an illegal screen. A controversial call at that point in the game.
Clark made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, but the Huskies could not grab the rebound on the miss and Iowa would run out the clock without getting another possession.
-Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke bullied her way down low, putting up six points on 3-of-3 shooting in the first. Aaliyah Edwards picked up an early foul in the first quarter and was subbed out to Ice Brady, who didn’t fare much better.
The sophomore was doing so well that Geno Auriemma had to change his strategy and use Edwards and Brady in the same lineup.
Stuelke and Iowa's other players stepped up to get this win. Stuelke finished with a game-high 23 points while Kate Martin scored 11 points.
Clark still got hers, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting (3-11 from three).
-For UConn, Bueckers and Edwards had 17 points apiece while Arnold added 14 points for UConn. The Huskies were 5-for-12 from three in the first half but were just 3-for-13 in the second half.
Game MVP: Hannah Stuelke
The sophomore forward did it all for Iowa, especially when Clark had trouble scoring. She made high-percentage shots down low, she was running the break and came down with some big rebounds.
