ALBANY, N.Y. — Caitlin Clark put up another sensational performance to carry Iowa to its second straight Final Four.
The Hawkeyes’ superstar guard, whose record-breaking exploits have brought unprecedented attention to women’s basketball, made nine 3-pointers and finished with 41 points and 12 assists as Iowa knocked defending national champion LSU out of the NCAA Tournament with a 94-87 victory on Monday night.
“It’s amazing to be back in the Final Four. It’s so hard to get back there,” Clark said. “This region was really hard, but we told ourselves we are the one seed for a reason.”
Top-seeded Iowa (33-4) will play either UConn in the national semifinals Friday night in Cleveland.
Monday’s highly anticipated matchup was a rematch of last year’s national championship game won by LSU, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers.
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Both teams wished that this meeting had come later in the tournament instead of with a Final Four berth at stake, but that was out of their control.
Clark, who also scored 41 points in the regional final last year, and Angel Reese of LSU put on a memorable show for the sold-out crowd and the millions watching.
“I think it’s just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history. Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages,” said Reese, who had 17 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 left. “And just being able to be a part of history is great. Playing against another great player, of course, is always amazing.”
Clark has already declared for this year’s WNBA draft. Reese, too, will have a decision to make about whether to turn pro or come back for one more season.
With the game tied at 45 after an entertaining first half, Clark took over in the third quarter. The NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader hit four 3-pointers, each deeper than the previous one. Her fourth of the quarter, from her signature logo range, made it 61-52. It also was the 538th of her career, which made her the all-time leader in that category among NCAA Division I players, passing Oklahoma’s Taylor Robertson.
“There’s not a lot of strategy. You’ve got to guard her. Nobody else seems to be able to guard her,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat them. She’s just a generational player, and she just makes everybody around her better.”
Flau’jae Johnson scored 23 points for No. 3 seed LSU (31-6), which fell short of becoming the first repeat champion since UConn in 2016.
Kate Martin scored 21 points for Iowa and Sydney Affolter added 16.
Iowa’s lead ballooned to 65-52 before LSU scored six straight points. The Tigers trailed 69-58 heading into the fourth quarter before scoring the first five points to get within 69-63.
But they got no closer as Clark wouldn’t let the Hawkeyes lose. Her ninth 3-pointer, which tied the March Madness single-game record, made it 80-69 with 5:05 left. She pumped her chest as she ran back down the court and yelled to the adoring crowd.
“I got hyped for a second,” Clark said. “When you are playing a team like LSU, they are never out of the game. No matter what the time or score is. Do not start celebrating or get too emotional. They are going to fight until the end.”
The game got off to a quick start and the first quarter was an offensive clinic by both teams. Clark got the scoring going early, much to the delight of a pro-Iowa crowd. She hit a 3 to start the game, breaking a tie with Diana Taurasi for most 3-pointers in women’s NCAA Tournament history.
Iowa led 17-9 before Mulkey called timeout. That seemed to settle her team down as the Tigers outscored the Hawkeyes 22-9 the rest of the quarter behind Reese, who finished the opening 10 minutes with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists to go along with two steals.
The Tigers got a scare in the second quarter when Reese went down trying to block Clark’s shot. She rolled her right ankle on a TV camera on the baseline and hopped off the court. The trainers looked at it and she rode a stationary bike for a few minutes before returning to the game. Reese was a little slower getting up the court but otherwise appeared unaffected.
Johnson made an acrobatic shot just before the halftime buzzer to tie the game. Clark had 19 points in the first half.
PORTLAND 3
NO. 3 UCONN 80, NO. 1 USC 73: After being a spectator a year ago, Paige Bueckers is headed back to the Final Four after scoring 28 points and lifting UConn over Southern California.
Bueckers outdueled fabulous USC freshman All-American JuJu Watkins, sparking a decisive run over the final five minutes that sent third-seeded UConn (33-5) to its 23rd national semifinal, the most of any school. Leading 65-64, the Huskies scored 11 straight points, including seven from Bueckers and a three-point play from Aaliyah Edwards to finally put away the top-seeded Trojans (29-6).
UConn will face Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Friday in Cleveland.
Edwards finished with 24 points, and this Final Four trip will rank as one of the most unlikely in coach Geno Auriemma’s 39-year tenure. Beset by injuries that left them with only eight healthy players — including the loss of two starters — the Huskies managed minutes, fouls and exhaustion to win their regional final a year after seeing a string of 14 straight Final Four appearances snapped.
Bueckers was sidelined by a major knee injury last year when that streak ended. She was determined to get the Huskies back to that stage, and did it by hitting 11 of 23 shots and finishing with 10 rebounds and six assists.
A day after the NCAA belatedly realized the 3-point line at one end of the court at Moda Center was 9 inches shorter than the other, the Trojans and Huskies played on a corrected floor — albeit with the incorrect line still visible — with the final spot in Cleveland at stake.
And it was the Huskies celebrating at the end, although it was a shaky finish. UConn missed six free throws in the final minute and let a 12-point lead dwindle down to five.
“For the most part, this was a really good basketball game and they beat us,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “They did a little bit better of what they do than we do.”
Watkins concluded her freshman year by scoring 29 points, but UConn made it difficult for her to get clean looks at the rim with regular double-teams and constant switching of defenders. Watkins took about 15 minutes to score the eight points needed to move past former San Diego State star Tina Hutchinson for the most by a freshman in NCAA history. Watkins’ 3-pointer at the top of the key midway through the second quarter gave her the record.
Watkins missed eight of her next nine shots and UConn built a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter. USC rallied to pull even at 59-59 with 7:21 left after five quick points from Watkins and McKenzie Forbes’ fourth 3-pointer of the game, but the Huskies pulled away late.
“(UConn) played great defense. Every time I got past the first line, someone was there,” Watkins said.
Forbes finished with 24 points and Rayah Marshall had 11 for the Trojans, who were seeking their first Final Four appearance since 1986.
