Caitlin Clark, Iowa advance to NCAA title game against South Carolina

Cleveland — Caitlin Clark eventually found a way.

Completely shut down in the first half, the most exciting player in women's college basketball now has one game left in her storied career at Iowa. She'll try to cap it off by bringing the Hawkeyes their first national championship.

Clark scored 21 points and made three momentum-turning 3-pointers in the second half to rally Iowa past Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women's Final Four on Friday night.

Next up for the Hawkeyes (34-4) is a rematch with unbeaten South Carolina, which also had a perfect record last year before losing to Iowa in the national semifinals. The Hawkeyes then fell to LSU in the title game.

“South Carolina has been the top of the top. They’re in a different league. We’re going to do everything we can to try to be right there with them,” Clark said. “But, yeah, I think the biggest thing is enjoy this tonight and we’ll go over the scout early in the morning.”

After a rough opening 30 minutes because of a swarming UConn defense, the NCAA Division I career scoring leader scorer finally got going in the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 51, Clark scored seven points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the period – including one of her signature step-back 3s – to give Iowa a small cushion. UConn (33-6) cut it to 60-57 before the Hawkeyes scored six straight to take a 66-57 advantage.

Iowa led 70-66 before Nika Muhl hit a 3-pointer after a steal with 39.3 seconds left to get the Huskies within one.

Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke turned it over with 10 seconds left. UConn had a chance to take the lead, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen with 3.9 seconds left.

Clark made one free throw but missed the second. Teammate Sydney Affolter got the rebound after Stuelke tipped it and UConn tied her up, forcing a jump ball. The possession arrow kept the ball with the Hawkeyes, who sealed the win by throwing the ball in the air to run out the final seconds.

Stuelke scored 23 points to lead Iowa. Clark finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.

“I thought we started off the fourth quarter really good," Clark said. “Came up with some big baskets. Hannah came up with some baskets. Kate (Martin) was tremendous. Just resilient.”

Bueckers and Edwards each scored 17 points for the Huskies, who were back in the Final Four after a one-year hiatus that ended their run of 14 straight seasons in the national semifinals.

This might have been one of the best coaching jobs by Geno Auriemma. UConn had hopes of winning the 12th title in school history coming into the season, but those were quickly dashed by a series of injuries that sidelined nearly half of its roster.

But Bueckers, the national player of the year as a freshman in 2021 who returned to that form after missing an entire season and part of another with injuries, carried the Huskies back into title contention.

“We put ourselves in position to win a game that we probably had no business being in given the circumstances we worked with,” Auriemma said. “In the moment, when you’re trying to win the game and don’t win the game, you don’t think you’re lucky to be here, you just think about we had an opportunity to win this game and we didn't."

UConn got going early behind Bueckers and stellar defense by Muhl and her teammates, who swarmed Clark every time she touched the ball. The Huskies led by 12 points in the second quarter.

“That’s what you’re going to see at this point. They’re gonna really sell out on me,” Clark said. “I thought my teammates stepped up did a really good job, made some big baskets when we needed it. I couldn’t be more proud of them. It takes all five of us.”

Iowa trailed by six at the half before getting going in the third quarter behind their star. She made her first 3-pointer of the game 2 minutes into the period, and then her four-point play got Iowa within one. The Hawkeyes then took their first lead later in the period right before Martin got hit in the face by Edwards, resulting in a bloody nose. She ran off the court, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Martin was back on the Iowa bench before they had finished cleaning the court. She then hit three big baskets down the stretch and finished with 11 points.

“Couldn’t be happier with our performance tonight in the second half,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “First half was a little rough for us. We really kept believing.”

Clark had a tough first half, scoring six points while missing all six of her 3-point attempts. She barely got any open shots and at times looked frustrated. Iowa’s coaches kept shouting words of encouragement to their generational player.

Even though she wasn’t scoring, Clark kept the Hawkeyes in the game with six rebounds and four assists as the Hawkeyes trailed 32-26 at the break.

“We got some good looks. They just didn’t go in. And sometimes that’s just what happens,” Clark said. “We missed some easy bunnies around the rim. But I think the best thing about our group is we went into the locker room at halftime and it wasn’t, like, oh, come on, you’ve got to make shots. It was, no, stop turning the ball over and you’re going to be perfectly fine.”

South Carolina 78, North Carolina State 59

Cleveland — All-America center Kamilla Cardoso scored 22 points and unbeaten South Carolina emphatically kept its perfect season going, advancing to the championship game of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 78-59 victory over North Carolina State on Friday night.

The talented and tenacious Gamecocks (37-0) led by one at halftime before putting their full arsenal on display in the third quarter. They outscored the Wolfpack 29-6 to turn what had been a tense matchup into another blowout.

South Carolina will meet the winner of the second Final Four game between Iowa and UConn – a matchup featuring stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers that has created a buzz across America – for the national title on Sunday.

Aziaha James scored 20 points for No. 3 seed N.C. State (31-7), which knocked off a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed to get to Cleveland.

The Wolfpack had no shot against the Gamecocks, who were a unanimous No. 1 most of the season in the AP Top 25 and are aiming to become the first undefeated national champions since UConn in 2016.

Cardoso added 11 rebounds while playing just 23 minutes. She hurt her right leg late in the first half and returned in the third quarter, wearing a black compression sleeve on the leg. She did not play in the fourth.

Ashlyn Watkins was just as dominant inside for the Gamecocks, finishing with 20 rebounds along with eight points. Raven Johnson added 13 points.

N.C. State coach Wes Moore knew his team would have to play its best to have any chance of bringing down bigger, badder South Carolina.

On Thursday, he likened the semifinal to a David-vs.-Goliath matchup and promised his team would “put the stone in the sling and let it rip.” The Wolfpack needed more than stones.

Relishing the underdog role, the Wolfpack were hoping to replicate some of the magic the school’s conjured in 1983, when N.C. State, coached by Jim Valvano, shocked the hoop world by beating heavily favored Houston in the NCAA title game – an upset that helped define March madness.

But unlike a year ago, when South Carolina stormed into the Final Four in Dallas with an identical 36-0 record before losing to Clark and Iowa in the semis, the Gamecocks kept this season pristine.

The 6-foot-7 Cardoso made sure of it despite not moving as well as usual after the injury. South Carolina, which won by an average of 29.6 points this season, left no doubt after halftime, showing its dominance to a sellout crowd and a national TV audience.

Te-Hina Paopao and Johnson made 3-pointers as the Gamecocks quickly stretched their lead to 10, and they closed the quarter with a dizzying 17-1 run that quieted a rowdy N.C. State crowd.

While this unprecedented season of women’s basketball has been largely driven by Clark’s assault on the record books with her logo-distance 3-pointers and charisma inspiring fans from coast to coast, one team rose to the top.

It’s been South Carolina all along.

These Gamecocks have ruled the roost with equal amounts of depth, talent and swagger.

Staley wasn’t sure what type of team she had when the season began after having to replace five starters from last year’s squad. She also worried about her young team’s carefree attitude and whether this group would mature.

But not only did the Gamecocks bond and get themselves together, they’re one win from cementing South Carolina as a dynasty.

Cardoso, who declared for the WNBA draft earlier this week, began to establish herself inside in the second quarter. The Brazilian scored South Carolina’s first 12 points before Johnson’s jumper put the Gamecocks up 30-24.

But on South Carolina’s next possession, Cardoso tweaked her right ankle on a drive and came up limping. After struggling to get back on defense, she fouled to get a whistle so Staley could get her off the floor.