The top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (32-4, 15-3 Big Ten) punched their ticket to the Elite Eight with an 89-68 win over fifth-seeded Colorado (24-10, 11-7 Pac-12) to advance to the Albany 2 Region final.
With the win, Iowa moves on and will face a familiar foe. It’s the third-seeded LSU Tigers (31-5, 13-3 SEC) that await the Hawkeyes in the regional final.
LSU topped No. 2 seed UCLA in the Sweet 16, 78-69. Sophomore guard Flau’jae Johnson led the way for LSU with 24 points on a 7-for-11 shooting day.
Of course, this is a national championship rematch from a season ago. In its first-ever appearance in the national title game, Iowa fell to LSU, 102-85.
LSU star forward Angel Reese scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, assisted five times, came away with three steals and blocked a shot in that title-clinching win over the Hawkeyes. She was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after the title victory.
Reese also served up a title game taunt of Clark in the game’s waning moments.
With the rematch now officially on the books, what does Clark think about facing off against Reese and LSU again?
“Yeah, I think we’re excited. I think any time you have a chance to go up against somebody you lost to, it brings a little more energy. But, at this point in the tournament, every single team is good. Whether you’re playing West Virginia, whether you’re playing Colorado, whether you’re playing LSU, you prep the exact same way. You come in with the same exact mindset.
“I think overall it’s just going to be a really great game for women’s basketball, and they’re really solid one through five. We know we’re going to have to rebound the basketball. But obviously I don’t know the ins and outs of everything about them, because we haven’t gone through the scout yet,” Clark said of LSU.
Iowa senior superstar Caitlin Clark was terrific against the Buffs, registering her 66th career double-double with 29 points and 15 assists. The 15 assists were here career-high in an NCAA Tournament game.
Clark knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and connected on 13-of-22 field goal attempts overall.
All five Hawkeye starters scored in double figures against Colorado. Junior guard Sydney Affolter continued her strong play since getting moved into the starting lineup, scoring 15 points.
Graduate guard Kate Martin and fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall each added 14 points as the pair combined for 6-of-9 treys. Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke also registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“More than anything I think just building off this win today. I think this was the first time in about three games we were able to put together what felt like a complete basketball game on both ends of the floor, whether it was in transition or on defense or just really executing our offense, so I think being able to build off of that and take that momentum into our next game,” Clark said.
Iowa’s Elite Eight matchup against LSU is set for Monday night at 6:15 p.m. CT on ESPN from MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.
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