of iowa hawkeyes is back in the women’s final for the second year in a row, but not without some controversy.
Iowa fought through a tough first half. vs. UConn Star shooter Caitlin Clark scored just six points. Iowa remained in the lead thanks to momentum late in the second half and a key 3-point shot by Clark.
University Huskies’ Nika Muhl (#10) and Aaliyah Edwards (#3) react after being fouled in the second half against Yukon during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game in Inside, Iowa Hawkeyes #22 Caitlin Clark is happy. April 5, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
But with one minute left, a costly turnover and Nika Mule’s 3-pointer gave Iowa a 70-69 lead.
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Then, in dramatic fashion, Aaliyah Edwards was called to an illegal screening of Gavit Marshall.
Clark made the first free throw and Sidney Affolter secured the second offensive rebound to end it all.
The controversial call caused a stir on social media, with many disagreeing with officials.
“From my perspective, it was pretty clean,” Edwards said of the offensive foul after the game.
March Madness: Iowa State tops Yukon, faces undefeated South Carolina in title game
Paige Bueckers, who dropped 17 points, became emotional and denied the importance of the play to the outcome of the game.
From left, UConn Huskies No. 5 Paige Bueckers, No. 3 Aaliyah Edwards, and No. 10 Nika Muhl respond to the media after losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinals 2024 4 March 5 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Iowa defeated Connecticut 71-69. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“Anyone can give a lot of credit to that one play, but it’s not that one play that wins or loses a basketball game. I feel like there were a lot of mistakes that were made that were ‘big’ or caused the game. [to be lost]. ”
“Yeah, you can look at one play and say, ‘That play killed us,’ or ‘That play hurt us,’ but we should have done a better job. We should have done a better job of making sure we didn’t leave.” That way you leave the game to chance and then one bad call decides the match, and yeah, that was a tough call for us. It may have been, but I feel like I could have done better to prevent it from happening. ”
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He added: “You can talk about refereeing, but the players play. It’s the players who decide the games.”
Paige Bueckers of the University Huskies watches the first half of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio on April 5, 2024. 5 days) (Gregory Shams/Getty Images)
UW coach Geno Auriemma couldn’t miss the reaction on the court, but he seemed displeased with the postgame call.
“There’s probably going to be illegal screen calls on all of their belongings. All I know is that three or four of them were called on us. And… I don’t think anyone called on them.”
Iowa advances to the title game and will play its next game. South Carolina.
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