Guided by another legendary performance from Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes did what many thought they couldn’t: Iowa shocked previously unbeaten and defending national champion South Carolina, 77-73.
For it to sink in as reality, read this next sentence twice if you need to. The Iowa Hawkeyes (31-6, 15-3 Big Ten) are playing for the national championship against LSU (33-2, 15-1 SEC) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
Clark poured in 41 points, knocking down 15-of-31 shots and 5-of-17 3-pointers. She also dished out eight assists and tracked down six rebounds.
“I think I’m just really, really thankful to be in this position more than anything. Like Coach Bluder said, probably everybody in America picked South Carolina, deservedly so. They’ve been ranked No. 1 all year. They’ve won 42 straight basketball games. Why wouldn’t you pick them?
“But at the same time, the people in our locker room believed in us. That’s all you need is a belief in one another, a confidence in one another. We just do it for the person to our left and our right. We might not be—we’re clearly not as tall as them, we’re clearly not as athletic as them, but I think we’re a very, very skilled basketball team that loves one another, and that’s going to get you really, really far,” Clark said afterwards.
Iowa’s only other double-figure scorer was its other top star, post Monika Czinano. The Watertown, Minn., native scored 18 on 6-of-8 field goal shooting.
“All the credit goes to my teammates. They find me in positions that I am the most effective, and they do it game in and game out all the time. The confidence they have in me is quite unreal truly. I’m just so proud to be on this team,” Czinano said.
It was quite the night for Iowa fans. Here’s a look back at all the fun inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, through these sensational photos.