The Iowa Hawkeyes’ First Final Four: Maya Clark, the Huskies’ Megastar, and the Cougars’ Legacy
After UConn ended Iowa’s tournament run in 2021, Auriemma pulled Clark aside after the game to pay his compliments. “He told me that I had a bright future after he said that what I’d done for Iowa this season had really been something special”, Clark said. I’m very grateful for that.
Clark was a great freshman. With her as their star, the Iowa Hawkeyes had reached the Sweet 16. Still, they wanted more: Iowa’s first Final Four since the 1990s, and — if they dared to dream it — the program’s first-ever title.
Maya Moore, a former player from the University of Connecticut who went on to play for the Minnesota Lynx, is a person that Clark always looked up to.
“I wanted to be just like her. I thought I was going to go to UConn when I was growing up, but obviously that’s not what happened,” Clark said in a news conference last month.
“Honestly,” Clark said, “it was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited. I loved UConn. I think they’re the coolest place on Earth, and I wanted to say I got recruited by them.”
Ultimately, Clark committed to Iowa, where she began her career in the fall of 2020. “I know a lot of little girls dream about going to all those blue bloods, but I think playing for your home state is really something special,” Clark said that season.
One reporter asked about UConn’s smothering defense; she answered with what lessons she planned to take away. “Progressing throughout my career, it’s going to be the same thing,” she said then. Learning from it and getting better, like finding ways to move without the ball.
On Friday night, Clark and Iowa will take on UConn, a No. 3 seed in this year’s tournament, in a star-studded collision of powerhouses. The Huskies have their own megastar in guard Paige Bueckers, a junior, who has averaged 22 points per game this season.
After the national title loss to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament last year, Clark said that she hoped her influence on young kids and people in the state of Iowa would be her legacy.
“I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season. I hope this team was good for them. I understand we came up one win short,” she said, sniffling and wiping her tears with a towel. “But I think we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to celebrate.” She said that it was too early to be thinking about this season.
Our goal is obviously to achieve that. Clark said Monday that they want to be there. “But you have to take it one at a time. There’s still two more there to get.”
Clark has noticed that the biggest difference between her first and second encounters is her mental game. “I’ve always had the basketball skills. She said that it’s been her mind that has made her better.
“I think the biggest thing has been my maturity and being able to move on from things when it doesn’t go my way,” she added. “I’m not worried about what the other team’s doing. I’m not worried about what call the ref is making. I’m worried about what Iowa needs.”
After 10 Years, Two Championships: The Final Game of the Big Big Bad Game for UConn, N.C. State, and LSU
For UConn, Friday’s game is a return to the Final Four after missing out last season. Auriemma said there was something about their win over USC that made them special. “It may be even more emotional than winning a national championship game sometimes, because you know how hard it was to get here.”
South Carolina is on a quest to stay perfect and bring the third national championship back to the state. Against N.C. State, they face a team with stellar guards (Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers) that beat UConn early in the season and perennial power Stanford in this year’s tournament.
The nation took notice when the two most fascinating basketball teams in the country tipped off in a winner-take-all game on Monday night.
The most prolific scorer in NCAA history, the star of Iowa’s team, and LSU’s record holder for double-doubles in a season were facing each other in the Elite Eight.
“I’m leaving college with everything I ever wanted: a degree, a national championship, and this platform I could never imagine,” Reese announced on her Instagram account. It’s for girls that look like me.
Anticipation for Monday’s game was piqued by high-profile stories from big-time newspapers hundreds of miles away from Iowa City and Baton Rouge. The Los Angeles Times criticized LSU’s players and their coach Kim Mulkey in a column after it was deemed racist and sexist by the Washington Post.
Cassielin Clark and Angel Reese net a record audience for ESPN for the Women’s Basketball Elite Eight Game at LSU
Both of us don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. Reese said that the game was competitive on the day before the game.
Clark is known to be playing her final college games, having announced she will turn pro after this season. On Wednesday, Reese said she is also leaving college.
Iowa was able to pull away after Clark’s 41 points and 12 assists, defeating LSU 94-87 in Albany, N.Y. Reese finished with 17 points and 20 Rebounds.
“I’m sure so many different people watched us tonight,” Reese said. I’m happy to be here and keep raising women’s sports, not just women’s basketball, but women’s sports in general.
Clark thinks being so close last year gave him a little fire. She added that she’s enjoying the moment: “Women’s basketball is at its best right now and we’re just lucky to be a part of it.”
The Iowa-LSU match up was one of the ratings successes. ESPN says the women’s Elite Eight games drew an average of 6.2 million viewers, up 184% from last year. The win over USC by the University of Connecticut and the 6.9 million viewers it attracted were two of the big draws.
“Young girls will never know a time when they can’t consistently watch women’s sports and their favorite athletes,” said Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor of sport management at Syracuse University. “They will continue to exist in a time where women athletes are as big of — if not bigger — stars than the men.”
Source: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s LSU-Iowa rematch nets a record audience for ESPN
Tickets for the Final Four on Ticketmaster and AXS are Almost Priced: The Cleveland Cavaliers Versus the Rocket Mortgage Field House
The tickets for the Final Four are very expensive. As of Wednesday, resale listings on Ticketmaster and the NCAA’s official partner, AXS, had most spots below the upper level at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers play, going for a minimum of around $1,000 each — and much higher for seats closer to the hardwood.