Iowa was clinging to a two-point lead over UConn late. Caitlin Clark reached into her bag of tricks one last time.
This inbounds play by Caitlin Clark was SO SMART. Underrated moment. pic.twitter.com/TSywwp0Hnc
— SLAM University (@slam_university) April 6, 2024
Trailing 71-69 with just over a second left, the Huskies' only chance was to steal Iowa's inbounds pass. Clark saw her defender had turned her back, and simply threw the pass off her and out of bounds, bleeding precious time off the clock.
It was a concern for the Hawkeyes, who saw their 70-66 lead shrink to just one point after UConn's pressure on a similar inbounds play led to a steal and a three-pointer by Nika Muhl.
UConn ratchets up the pressure on the inbounds, Aaliyah Edwards swats at the ball, ball bobbled, Nika with the steal
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) April 6, 2024
Nika for 3!!!!!!!!
THIS GAME pic.twitter.com/LSiu2hUvTm
UConn also got a steal with 12 seconds left, setting up a final chance to win. But the referees whistled Aaliyah Edwards for a moving screen with four seconds to go, a call that may have been technically correct but felt ill-timed in the final moments of a tight Final Four game.
Regardless, Iowa earned a return trip to the NCAA title game, facing undefeated South Carolina. Iowa defeated an undefeated South Carolina team in the semifinals last year. We don't know what might happen in the rematch, but rest assured, South Carolina players will be watching their backs when Clark is inbounding the ball late.
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