Women’s Final Four: Caitlin Clark scores 41 points as Iowa topples South Carolina
DALLAS — Caitlin Clark had another sensational game with 41 points to help Iowa spoil South Carolina’s perfect season with a 77-73 victory Friday night in the Final Four.
The spectacular junior guard, who has had back-to-back 40-point games, now has the Hawkeyes in a spot they have never been in before — one victory away from a national championship.
They will have to beat another Southeastern Conference team to do that, as Iowa (31-6) will face Louisiana State in the title game Sunday afternoon. The Tigers beat Virginia Tech in the other national semifinal.
Emily Lee thrives in high-pressure situations, and her ability to achieve high marks as UCLA gymnastics’ first performer makes her a vital part of the team.
Thanks to the spectacular play of Clark and the historic season by South Carolina, this was one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matchups in women’s Final Four history.
“We had nothing to lose. I have all the confidence in the world in this group, and they believe right back in me, and that’s all you need,” Clark said. “All we do is believe in one another and we love each other to death, and that’s what a true team is. If you want an example of a team, that’s what this is.”
The game lived up to the hype surrounding it, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of more than 19,000 fans.
Coach Dawn Staley and South Carolina (36-1) had won 42 in a row, including last year’s championship game.
This was Iowa’s first appearance in the Final Four in 30 years. The last time the Hawkeyes advanced this far was 1993, and C. Vivian Stringer was the coach of that team that lost to Ohio State in overtime.
Clark wowed the crowd that included Harper Stribe, a young fan of the team who has been battling cancer. She was featured in a surprise video that informed the Hawkeyes’ star that she was the Associated Press player of the year.
The loss ended a spectacular season for the defending champion Gamecocks, who were trying to become the 10th team to go through a season unbeaten.
UCLA gymnastics moved one step closer to ending its nationals drought by winning its NCAA regional semifinal Thursday at Pauley Pavilion.
Zia Cooke led the Gamecocks with 24 points. Slowed by foul trouble, star Aliyah Boston had just eight points and 10 rebounds as the Hawkeyes packed the paint, daring South Carolina to shoot from the outside.
The Gamecocks finished four for 20 from behind the three-point line and couldn’t take advantage of their 49-25 advantage on the boards that included 26 offensive rebounds.
Louisiana State 79, Virginia Tech 72
Alexis Morris scored 27 points and had two of her misses in the fourth quarter turned into putback baskets by Angel Reese in a big run as the Tigers rallied to beat the top-seeded Hokies in the first national semifinal game Friday.
Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for third-seeded LSU (33-2), which is going to the women’s national championship game for the first time. It comes in the second season since coach Kim Mulkey returned to her home state to take over a Tigers program that lost five consecutive national semifinal games from 2004 to 2008 the only other times it made it this far.
“I’m never satisfied. I’m super excited that we won, but I’m hungry” said Morris, who jumped on a courtside table and fired up LSU fans after the game. “Like, I’m greedy. I want to win it all so I can complete the story.”
Mulkey, who won three national titles in four Final Four appearances over her 21 seasons at Baylor, is only the second coach to take two schools to the national championship game. The other was C. Vivian Stringer, with Cheyney in the inaugural 1982 women’s tournament and Rutgers in 2007.
“I came home for lots of reasons,” Mulkey said. “One, to someday hang a championship banner in the PMAC [Pete Maravich Assembly Center]. Never, ever do you think you’re going to do something like this in two years.”
Trailing 59-50 after three quarters, LSU went ahead with a 15-0 run over a five-minute span in the fourth quarter. The Tigers led for the first time since late in the first half when Falu’jae Johnson made a steal and drove for a layup to make it 64-62.
Reese scored six points in that game-turning spurt, including a basket after Morris’ attempted three-pointer clanked off the front rim. Reese had a second-effort follow of her own miss after rebounding another miss by Morris.
Elizabeth Kitley had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Virginia Tech (31-5), the Atlantic Coast Conference champion that was in the Final Four for the first time.
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