Cleveland (AP) Caitlin Clark eventually found a solution.
The most intriguing player in women’s college basketball has only one game left in her illustrious career at Iowa after being completely shut off in the first half. She hopes to cap it off by leading the Hawkeyes to their first national championship.
Clark scored 21 points and hit three game-changing 3-pointers in the second half to help Iowa defeat Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.
The Hawkeyes (34-4) will next face unbeaten South Carolina, which had a perfect record until losing to Iowa in the national semifinals last year. The Hawkeyes then lost to LSU in the championship game.
“South Carolina has consistently ranked at the top. They compete in a different league. Clark said, “We’re going to do everything we can to be 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.”
After a tough first 30 minutes against a swarming UConn defense, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer eventually got rolling in the fourth quarter.
Clark scored seven points in the first two and a half minutes of the period, including one of her iconic step-back threes, to give Iowa a tiny lead. UConn (33-6) closed to 60-57 but Iowa scored six straight points to grab a 66-57 lead.
