The Iowa Hawkeyes (34-4, 15-3 Big Ten) punched their ticket back to the national championship game with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the UConn Huskies (33-6, 18-0 Big East).
After trailing by as many as 12 early, Iowa rallied and topped UConn, 71-69, to advance to a second straight national championship game.
Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke led Iowa with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Senior guard Caitlin Clark added 21 points, 16 of which came after halftime.
“Couldn’t be happier with our performance tonight in the second half. First half was a little rough for us, but you know, we really kept believing, and I’m just so proud of the character of these young women to maintain their composure through some pretty tough times in the first half.
“And we got it to within six at halftime and we felt good about that. I thought Hannah Stuelke was amazing tonight. But we’re really thrilled to be playing in the championship game for the second year in a row,” Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder said afterward.
Iowa’s only other double-figure scorer was graduate guard Kate Martin who fought through a bloody nose to knock down two of the game’s biggest shots in the game’s closing moments.
With Iowa moving on to the national championship game, let’s look back at the incredible night that was with the best photos from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.