The sequel didn’t have the exact same cast as the original. College basketball doesn’t work that way.
But the two prominent stars from the NCAA women’s basketball tournament a year ago – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese – remained front and center in the sport. Monday night, they both lived up to the hype, but it’s the sharp-shooting Clark who gets to play on.
Clark had 41 points – including going 9-of-20 from three-point range – to go with 12 assists and seven rebounds, and No. 1 Iowa topped No. 3 LSU 94-87, a rematch of last year’s NCAA title game, to advance to the Final Four for the second consecutive season.
“Job’s not finished,” Clark said on the court to ESPN after the win.
Up next for Iowa is a program synonymous with the Final Four and winning national championships: No. 3 UConn, who held off freshman phenom JuJu Watkins and No. 1 USC 80-73 in the regional final in Portland, Oregon.
It will be the 23rd Final Four appearance – and 15th in the last 16 NCAA tournaments – for the 11-time national champion Huskies, all under head coach Geno Auriemma. It will be the third Final Four for UConn star Paige Bueckers, who missed last season with a torn ACL.
This might be most unlikely Final Four trip of them all, as UConn, decimated by injuries this season, had a depleted roster.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the women’s bracket, undefeated and top overall seed South Carolina will face No. 3 NC State in the Final Four. Those two teams clinched their spots with wins on Sunday.
The women’s Final Four is set to happen Friday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, and the national championship game is scheduled on Sunday.
Clark, who has the most career points in Division I history for women and men, is a generational talent. The 22-year-old is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 15.
But before the WNBA, she has one last shot for a national title.
After the game, the Iowa superstar shared a moment in the handshake line with Reese and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.
“(Clark) just told me, ‘Continue to be a great player,’ and I told her continue to be a great player, as well, and keep elevating the game and go win it,” Reese said.
“What did I say to her? I said, ‘I sure am glad you’re leaving,’” Mulkey said. “I said, ‘Girl, you something else.’ Never seen anything like it.”
Was revenge on Iowa’s mind after what happened last year?
“To be honest, no,” Clark said.
A rematch for the ages
While Iowa and LSU were facing each other in the Elite Eight, the contest at MVP Arena in Albany, New York, had the energy and intensity of a national championship game.
Despite rolling her ankle in the second quarter, Reese had her 10th consecutive double-double in the NCAA tournament, tying the tournament record, with 17 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 left. She also had four assists, three blocks and two steals.
Kate Martin added 21 points for Iowa, while Sydney Affolter had 16. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson had 23 points.
The last time Clark and Reese squared off – with Reese famously waving her hand in front of her face toward Clark and then pointing to her ring finger as LSU closed in on the national title – it was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. The matchup in 2023 was compared to when Magic Johnson faced Larry Bird in the 1979 NCAA men’s title game.
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