“I feel like we were going to win the whole time,” said Jada Gyamfi, a freshman. In Iowa’s locker room after the game, players said they never had any doubt about the final result. They proudly recreated their home arena - Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City - as they had in Seattle during their team’s two regional games. Iowa’s fandom had traveled around the nation to see this happen. Iowa took down one of college basketball’s juggernauts, a team for whom a championship trophy seemed to be a formality. draft also awaits, with Boston widely considered to be the top selection.īoston said she was undecided about the draft but seemed to pass the mantle of team leader to Johnson, and said that when the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, it felt like “the end of an era.”Īnd then it happened. granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the seniors can return to South Carolina next season because the N.C.A.A. Boston, Cooke and Brea Beal have been the core of South Carolina’s dominance over the past four seasons. The only guard that could score reliably was Zia Cooke, who used her speed and crafty dribble moves to score 24 points and keep the Gamecocks in the game. “So I definitely think we beat ourselves.” “They were doing the same thing that every other team has done to us this season,” Fletcher said through tears. But nothing seemed to be effective, at least for long. South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley rotated in different players throughout the game, including Raven Johnson, Bree Hall, Kierra Fletcher and Olivia Thompson. Many spectators yelled at the guards to “shoot the ball,” but often, when they did, they missed. South Carolina’s guards struggled to take advantage of Iowa’s defenders sagging so deeply off them. The Gamecocks struggled to defend the play, often leaving one of the two wide open. On the offensive end, Iowa picked apart South Carolina’s defense with pick-and-roll plays, mostly featuring Clark and Czinano. Clark’s help defense and center Monika Czinano’s physicality forced 15 South Carolina turnovers. Iowa’s strategy of a zone defense, dropping Clark from the top of the zone and on to Boston or any post player that got the ball, proved to be effective. The lead seemed like it would evaporate quickly with Boston back in the second half. She played just eight minutes and was scoreless in the first half, but Iowa led by only 1 at the break, mostly because of South Carolina’s relentless depth. That would be really, really fun.”įor much of the first half, Iowa dominated South Carolina, and got its star forward, Aliyah Boston, into early foul trouble. “I’m sure so many people wish this was a series of seven. “Tonight showed how fun women’s basketball is,” Clark said. Division I Final Four, with the stifling, unbeaten South Carolina team against Clark, who was widely considered the player of the year. Spectators wearing black, gold and garnet were here to see the most anticipated college basketball matchup in either N.C.A.A. record, with 24 points and 12 rebounds Morris led all scorers with 27 points.Īs that game ended, the American Airlines Center quickly filled for what many fans and observers of the sport considered the main event. Reese produced her 33rd double-double this season, tying an N.C.A.A. Louisiana State pulled away late in a mostly back-and-forth game thanks to a one-two punch of Angel Reese and Alexis Morris that proved too much for the Hokies. final in program history with a 79-72 win over Virginia Tech earlier Friday night. The third-seeded Tigers advanced to their first N.C.A.A. Iowa will play Louisiana State in the title game on Sunday afternoon. “Everybody in America picked South Carolina, and deservedly so,” Clark said, adding: “But at the same time, the people in our locker room believed in us, and that’s all you need is a belief in one another.” One fan during the game prominently waved a sign that read, “In Clark we trust.” The team hugged and cheered at midcourt, and the players sang the school’s fight song with fans. Clark, who finished with 41 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, ran around the arena with a hand to her ear before stopping and raising both of her arms as Iowa’s white-knuckled fans roared. Instead it was Iowa, perhaps understandably, that celebrated like it had won the championship when the game was over.
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