Caitlin Clark and Iowa are going back to the national championship game.
But an undefeated juggernaut stands in their way.
Clark overcame a frustrating offensive night — and a terrific defensive performance from UConn — to finish with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists as the Hawkeyes earned a 71-69 victory over the Huskies in the national semifinals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke played a huge role for Iowa (34-4) and finished with a career-best 23 points and senior guard Kate Martin scored 11, including several clutch baskets in the fourth quarter.
“Just resilient,” Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and projected No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, said on ESPN. “Our offense wasn’t great tonight, we played great defense and sometimes that’s what you need to win. So I’m just proud of our girls to find a way to win.”
In Sunday’s national championship game (3 p.m., ABC), Iowa will face No. 1 and unbeaten South Carolina (37-0), which pulled away to beat No. 3 NC State, 78-59, in the first national semifinal. It is a rematch of last year’s Final Four matchup won by the Hawkeyes, 77-73, when Clark went for 41 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
The Gamecocks are the 11th women’s team to reach the championship game unbeaten and are one win away from becoming the 10th unbeaten champion.
“It is our history and our legacy over everybody else,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said at halftime of the second game on ESPN.
A year ago, Iowa lost badly to Angel Reese and LSU, 102-85, in the championship game. The Hawkeyes have never won the national championship.
“At this point anybody can take it,” Clark said of getting another shot in the title game.
Clark and the Hawkeyes dispatched Reese and LSU in the Elite Eight and then faced another titantic matchup against Paige Bueckers and UConn in the Final Four.
The game was tied at 51 after three quarters, but Iowa open the fourth on a 15-6 run.
“I thought we started off the fourth quarter really good,” Clark said. “We came up with some big baskets. Hannah came up with some big baskets, Kate came up with some big baskets.”
Clark drained a 3-pointer to put Iowa up 56-51 early in the fourth.
She hit a foul-line jumper to make it 60-55, giving her at least 20 points for the 48th straight game.
Gabbie Marshall hit a jumper to extend the Iowa lead to 66-57, but Bueckers hit a 3 to cut the deficiit to 66-62.
Martin drove in and hit a mid-range jumper to make it 68-62 for Iowa. Martin scored again in the paint for a 70-64 edge.
UConn’s Nika Muhl drained a wide-open 3-pointer to cut it to 70-69 with 39.4 seconds left.
With the clock winding down on Iowa’s next possession, Clark dished it to Stuelke in the paint but Stuelke made an errant pass that was stolen by UConn’s KK Arnold.
With 3.9 seconds left, UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards was whistled for an offensive foul as she tried to set a screen for Bueckers.
Clark drained 1-of-2 throws with 3.5 seconds left to make it 71-69, but Iowa had the possession arrow and got the ball back. Clark then bounced the ball of Bueckers and back out of bounds to put the clock at 0.8 seconds.
In the first half, Muhl, a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, hounded and harassed Clark on the defensive end, limiting her to 6 points and 6 rebounds as the Huskies took a 32-26 lead at the intermission. She shot 0-of-6 from deep before the intermission.
“That wasn’t a very good start for us at all,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said on ESPN.
“We really did a lot better job in the second half composure-wise.”
Clark managed just 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first quarter when UConn led 19-14.
Bueckers, the National Player of the Year as a freshman, finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and Edwards tallied 17 points with eight rebounds.
UConn, decimated by injuries to five players, continued to play with just seven available players. They had 60 points, including Azzi Fudd, sitting on the bench in sweats.
UConn has won 11 titles under coach Geno Auriemma but its last came in 2016 when the Huskies captured the last of four in a row.
Iowa, meantime, remains alive for its first title but now faces an undefeated powerhouse seeking its third championship since 2017.
“They’re an amazing team,” Bluder said. “Obivously, we’re just glad we get to go to practice tomorrow.”