The second game of a hoops double-header features two of the biggest stars in women’s college basketball, as Caitilin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes faces off against Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies. This is the last time Clark and Bueckers will share a college basketball court together. Clark declared for the WNBA Draft later this year (she’s projected to be the No. 1 pick for the Indiana Fever), while Bueckers opted in for her final season at UConn.
Clark and the Hawkeyes advanced to the title game for a second consecutive season, beating UConn 71-69 in the Final Four on Friday night. They’ll play South Carolina, who defeated NC state earlier in the night.
Clark and Iowa lost to LSU in the national championship game last year, and college basketball’s all-time leading scorer has talked often this season of the job not being done and wanting more. Well, now she’s going to get the chance to end her illustrious career in perfect fashion.
Iowa’s win ends a remarkable run by Uconn, which reached the Final Four despite having just eight available players after a rash of injuries.
Clark headlines Iowa’s top-ranked offense, it was UConn that looked flawless from the field early on, nailing 5 of 8 field goals to start, including both of its 3-point attempts, and leading 13-7 at the first media timeout. With a rotation dwindled to only six by grueling injury luck, the Huskies leaned heavily on its stars to build a 32-26 halftime lead. Familiar suspects Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards hooked up on a sweet transition bucket out of the first intermission, ultimately finishing the second quarter with nine combined points, but KK Arnold proved to be a crucial piece for Geno Auriemma’s squad. The freshman had finished with more than 10 points just once in her last six outings but had already crossed double-figures by halftime, also thrown out three assists and grabbing a rebound.
