US women’s college basketball sensation Caitlin Clark rallied the University of Iowa over the University of Connecticut 71-69 on Friday, giving her a chance to complete her historic career with a national title.
Clark scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and passed off seven assists to spark the Hawkeyes (34-4) into Sunday’s March Madness women’s championship game against unbeaten South Carolina, which routed North Carolina State 78-59.
“Our team’s confidence is pretty good at the point in the season,” Clark said. “Everybody is stepping up.
“At this point, anybody can take it and you’ve got to go prep. You’ve got one day to take care of yourself so we’ll be ready.”
Clark, the all-time leading scorer in major US college basketball for men or women, has become a iconic figure attracting unprecedented attention to women’s basketball.
Resale prices for tickets to the sold-out Women’s Final Four in Cleveland were higher than those for the men’s games, a sign of the spotlight Clark’s feats have brought to the women’s game.
Clark gave herself a chance to conclude her college career as a champion after Iowa lost to Louisiana State in last year’s final.
But Clark scored only six points in the first half, shooting 3-of-11 from the floor and 0-for-6 from 3-point range, as the Huskies’ Nika Muhl shut her down.
“That’s what your really going to see at this point. They are really going to sell out on me,” Clark said. “I thought my teammates stepped up and did a really good job, made some really big baskets when we needed it.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them. It takes all five of us.”
Connecticut led as much as 28-16 before Iowa pulled within 32-26 at half-time despite 12 turnovers.
“That wasn’t a very good start for us at all,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “They wouldn’t let us get our running game going. But I thought we took better care of the ball in the second half. We really did a lot better job composure-wise in the second half.”
Clark struck for seven points early in the fourth quarter as Iowa grabbed a 66-57 lead thanks to a 15-6 run to start the final quarter.
Muhl sank a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining to cut Iowa’s lead to 70-69 and the Huskies forced a turnover, but Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul, Clark added a final free throw and Connecticut never got the ball back for a final shot.
“We started off the fourth quarter really good, came up with some big baskets,” Clark said. “Our offense wasn’t great tonight but played great defense. Sometimes that’s what you need to win so I’m just proud of our girls to find a way to win.”
Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke had 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, scoring when Clark was denied.
“My teammates just did a great job of getting me the ball in there and I went to work,” Stuelke said. “Caitlin is a great passer so she’s always getting me the ball when I need it.”
A US record women’s basketball television audience of 12.3 million people watched Clark and the Hawkeyes beat LSU in the quarter-finals.
On the way to the WNBA
Clark, a 22-year-old Iowa prodigy known for her 3-point sharpshooting, is already an endorsement pitchwoman like few others and she still has not started her professional career.
She’s expected to be the first pick of the Women’s NBA Draft later this month by the Indiana Fever.
Considered an iconic generational talent among the finest men or women to play basketball, she overtook 1960s star Pete Maravich as the all-time leading college scorer.
The “Caitlin Clark Effect” has been compared to singer Taylor Swift and has even seen her followers dubbed “Clarkies”, mirroring Swift’s fervent “Swifties” fanbase.
