The University of Iowa women’s basketball team plays for a national championship on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes made their first appearance in the Final Four in three decades, ending South Carolina’s 42-game winning streak with a 77-73 win in the semifinals at the American Airlines Center on Friday night.
Caitlin Clark scored 41 points to send Iowa through to the finals, where the Hawkeyes (31-6) will face Louisiana State in Sunday’s championship game at 2:30 p.m.
Thousands of Iowa fans in the sold-out crowd of 19,288 watched as Clark led a group of Hawkeyes who sprinted across the court for several minutes to celebrate Iowa’s first-ever appearance in an NCAA title game.
The Tigers (33-2) also earned a chance to play for their first title in the sport with a 79-72 win over Virginia Tech.
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Clark scored Iowa’s last 17 points to stop the Gamecocks, who lost for the first time since losing a 64-62 game to Kentucky in the 2022 SEC Tournament title game.
Their biggest two came after the Gamecocks drew within 73-71 on the last two of Zia Cooke’s 34 points.
South Carolina’s size predictably proved to be a problem, but Iowa, who was passed 49-25, didn’t matter after McKenna knocked down Warnock on the only important rebound.
The senior grabbed a long offensive board after a missed 3-point attempt from Clark, who was fouled by Brea Beal with 13 seconds left.
She stepped up to the line and hit a pair to extend Iowa’s lead to 75-71.
Raven Johnson responded with a basket for the Gamecocks and Clark found himself at the line to play at 08, calmly hitting the game’s final points in a game that Lowa led for more than 35 minutes.
Iowa contributed to a one-point halftime lead with a fast start in the third quarter.
The Hawkeyes scored the first eight points of the quarter despite Monika Czinano committing her third foul just over a minute into the quarter.
A pair of baskets from Clark, one from Addison O’Grady and another from Kate Martin left Iowa 46-37 with 7:23 left in the quarter.
Aliyah Boston, who was scoreless for eight minutes in the first half after committing two fouls, ended the losing streak when she scored with 7:06 to go.
South Carolina continued to extend Iowa’s lead, drawing within 51-49 on two of the three points scored by Rock Island’s Beal with 3:15 left in the quarter.
Clark answered on next possession and Czinano – who finished with 18 points – scored the last six points of the third for Iowa, answering points from the Gamecocks each time to send the Hawkeyes into the last quarter with a 59-55 lead.
A 3-pointer from Johnson and a Boston basket put South Carolina back ahead 60-59. That lead of 8:54 didn’t last.
Clark made sure of that by matching Boston’s basket with a 3-point basket to put Iowa back ahead 62-60.
Czinano scored on the next possession and the Gamecocks played from behind for the rest of the game.
After shaking off some nervousness in the opening minute as teams missed their first seven shots, the Hawkeyes found a rhythm and took a nine-point lead after a quarter.
Clark broke the ice for Iowa, scoring with a drive with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left in the first quarter, the start of an 11-point, four-assist quarter for the junior.
Her 3-point basket with 4:35 left in the quarter gave Iowa an 11-6 lead.
The Gamecocks drew within 13-11 when Cooke converted at the line to complete a three-point game, leaving 2:43 in the first game before the Hawkeyes closed out the quarter with a 9-2 run.
Kate Martin created some separation by scoring from a 3-point range in the middle of a seven straight point run from Iowa.
Two free throws from Clark with nine seconds left in the quarter sent Iowa into second with a 22-13 youngster.
The Gamecocks found success in the second quarter, putting the ball in Cooke’s hands.
The 5-foot-9 guard helped break away the Hawkeye lead as Clark and Czinano each caught their second fouls in the quarter, Clark 8:17 at the half and Czinano 4:12 to play.
South Carolina took their first lead of the game when Laeticia Amihere scored on a 3-01 lay-in at halftime to give the Gamecocks a 32-31 advantage.
Clark returned in time to respond with a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the second of six lead changes in the quarter.
Clark, the national player of the year, also surpassed 1,000 points for the season in the quarter and then surpassed former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson’s previous Big Ten record of 1,001 points before the Hawkeyes led 38-37 into the half.
The Hawkeyes held on to that lead despite being passed 23-12 in the first 20 minutes and giving up 13 points for second chances.
Clark scored 19 of their first-half points while Czinano had 10 on the board.
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