DALLAS – This is the show we went to see.
Caitlin Clark, conductor of college basketballscore 41 points and Iowa beat South Carolina 77-73 in the Finals on Friday night. As the seconds ticked by, Clark dribbled beneath the basket, hurled the ball over the crowd and raised her arms in her Best Gladiator impression, as if to ask the crowd, “Don’t you guys enjoy it? ?”
Oh, that’s right. At the American Aviation Center, where thousands of fans shouted, “Let’s go Hawks!” and on social media where WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu tweeted the goat emoji and tagged Clark.
A sporting event doesn’t always live up to wild expectations. But this one did and then some. By the way, Clark also has 8 assists and 6 counter-attacks.
“She doesn’t really surprise me anymore,” said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. “I think she’s the most extraordinary basketball player in America. I don’t think there’s anyone like her. It’s not just about scoring, it’s about handling and passing. She had the ball in her hand. all night ago some people are pretty good defensive players.She believes in herself, in her teammates.She works hard to have that confidence.
“She said when we recruited her, ‘I want to be in the Finals.’ And you know, there’s got to be someone who believes that.”
Iowa’s trip to the Finals was the show’s first trip in 30 years. The Hawkeyes have never won a national title, but they will have a chance to do so Sunday in the face of LSU at 3:30 p.m. ET.
After a historic performance in the Elite Eight last Sunday – when Clark became the first player ever to score a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA tournament (women or men) – we wondered what what will be her encore part. Especially against the 1st seed overall South Carolina, the defending national champion, who appear to have settled on consecutive titles for the first time since. UConn did it in 2016.
Remember that Gamecocks have had a perfect season. With a record of 36-0, they are expected to become undefeated national champions. They are also the best defensive team in the country, scoring the fewest points per game (50.4) and the lowest scoring rate (31.2%) while allowing only three teams to score 70 points. They have not allowed a player to score more than 25 points in a game this season.
Clark didn’t care about any of that.
Clark, who was named Naismith’s Player of the Year earlier this week, said: “Obviously we’re not as tall as them, obviously we’re not as athletic as them. “But we’re a very, very skilled basketball team.”
Clark is the theater not to be missed throughout the season. She is fearless and pulls up from the logo like Steph curry. She exudes confidence and swagger like Diana Taurasiwho have directly watched here.
Her impact is eerily similar to how Taurasi led the UConn youth teams to national championships in 2003 and 2004. During those runs, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma briefly explained about your team’s success by saying, “We have Diana and you don’t.”
That’s the advantage the Hawkeyes have over Clark. It didn’t matter that South Carolina beat Iowa 49-25. “Nobody said we were going to beat them,” Clark said. “That would be a lie.” Either she went 5/17 from behind the arc. “That’s not too hot,” Clark said.
Hawkeyes was never threatened and that stems from the 6-foot-tall’s confidence, her teammates’ trust in her, and her trust in them.
The game ended all night, but Iowa overcame the discomfort (South Carolina got 11 points) as McKenna Warnock won one of Iowa’s five counter-attacks with 18 seconds left. The Hawkeyes took a tight 73-71 lead and Clark hit two free throws to turn it into a two-man match.
As soon as Warnock pulled the board down, she thought, “Give it to Caitlin,” Warnock told reporters afterward.
“South Carolina has 25 O’s, but we have an important one,” says Clark.
Raven Johnson made the second-chance jump to make it a two-point game for the Gamecocks, but the clock ran out after Clark made two more free throws, giving her 40 points in her fourth game. during the season.
The national conversation leading up to this game pitted Clark against Aliyah Boston like they were Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. They are the clear leads for the National Player of the Year award, which Boston won last year and Clark won this year. But it was clear early on that this was going to be Clark’s night.
By halftime, she had 19 points and 6 assists – a stat worthy of any other when the game was over. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley tasked various players with protecting Clark, and Kierra Fletcher, Raven Johnson, Laeticia Amihere and Bree Hall all gave their best. That doesn’t matter, because Clark consistently and easily gets past all of them as she continues to score or assist with 75% of Iowa’s score in the game.
Boston, the two-time best defensive player of the year, played just eight minutes of the first half after committing two early fouls. She finished with 8 points and 10 bounces in what could be her last college game. While she hasn’t pledged to announce her participation in the WNBA draft, she is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick on April 10.
Even though Iowa is in control and Boston hasn’t had the best of the night, there’s still a feeling that the Gamecocks will win in the end. How can Iowa maintain its aggression across the board? It helped South Carolina gain 39% off the floor, well below the 46.4% average. Zia Cooke got 24 points, but she was the only starter to hit double numbers. The South Carolina bench, which leads the nation in scoring 36 points per game this season, has scored 38. That effort was led by 6-foot-7 centre-back Kamila Cardosa, who played big all night and had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
It also helps Clark consistently find Monika Czinano – who has scored 18 points – on the inside, which Staley notes is the difference-maker.
“Tonight showed how exciting women’s basketball can be,” Clark said. “I’m sure some people wish this was a series of seven games.”
No, but Iowa still has one game left.
Clark later said: “We didn’t go this far just to play in a national championship game. “We’re here to win.”
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball, and soccer for FOX Sports. She has previously written for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of the book “Strong Like a Woman,” which was published in the spring of 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
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