There’s so much that can be written about this game. It’s the game that the women’s college basketball season felt like it had been building to all along.
Sure enough, the two titans delivered. Even after Iowa jumped in front, 22-13, after one quarter as Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark registered a 11 points and dished four assists, it was always destined to end with drama.
Strangely enough, though, it was the shot that Caitlin Clark didn’t hit and the offensive rebound that Iowa found that proved the game’s ultimate difference.
With Iowa clinging to a 73-71 lead late, it was a miss on a Clark 3-pointer that longtime starter McKenna Warnock went and found. That earned the Hawkeyes the bonus possession it needed to ice the game from there with free throws. When the night was all said and done, Iowa had toppled defending champion and previously unbeaten South Carolina, 77-73.
In a way, maybe that McKenna Warnock offensive rebound is the most fitting end to this trip to the national championship game. Though Clark was magical, finishing with an incredible 41 points on the biggest stage, it was a less heralded player that pushed the Hawkeyes’ into the winner’s circle.
That’s been one of the key storylines for Iowa dating to an embarrassing day in College Park, Maryland, where the Terrapins handed the Hawkeyes their worst loss of the season.
Iowa has rattled off nine wins in a row since, capturing the Big Ten Tournament crown for a second consecutive season. Along the way, the performances of Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall and McKenna Warnock have supplemented what Iowa’s two biggest stars, Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano, have provided. Now, Iowa moves onto a stage it has never graced before.
Iowa advances into the national championship game where it will meet the LSU Tigers. As expected, Hawkeye fans were ecstatic after a moment they’ll never forget. Here’s a look at the social media reaction to Iowa advancing to its first national championship game.