Controversial Call Delivers NCAA Dream: Caitlin Clark, Iowa In Championship

CLEVELAND – It wasn't the Caitlin Clark Show that everyone expected in the Final Four, but the Iowa Hawkeyes managed to beat the UConn Huskies to advance to the National Championship for the second-straight season. 

However, the game might be most remembered for a controversial late-game call that all but sealed the victory for Iowa. 

Leading by one point with under 20 seconds left, Clark drove into the lane but instead of trying to score, she passed the ball to teammate Hannah Stuelke, who led the Hawkeyes with 23 points. But Stuelke turned the ball over, giving UConn a chance to win the game with 9 seconds remaining. 

Officials whistled an offensive foul on UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards for an illegal screen on the ensuing possession, which turned the ball back over to Iowa without the Huskies even getting a chance to take a game-winning shot. 

The call was, at best, questionable and, at worst, a blatant missed call at the worst possible point. Iowa eventually ran out the clock – and added one Clark free throw – to win the game, 71-69. 

Chatter in the media room was dominated by the offensive foul call on Edwards. Some said it was a terrible call that shouldn't have been made at any point. Others thought the call was technically correct, but still shouldn't have been made at that critical point in the game. Not one argued that deciding the game on that call was the right decision. 

Caitlin Clark's final offensive possession in college basketball was nearly a costly decision to pass the ball to her teammate, rather than keep the game in her own hands. But the referees bailed her out and the Hawkeyes will now face the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks – who defeated NC State earlier on Friday night – on Sunday afternoon.

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark argues with a referee while a coach attempts to pull her away during the team's Final Four win over the Connecticut Huskies.

(Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

Despite the turnover, Clark remains steadfast that she did the right thing, passing the ball to Stuelke rather than trying to ice the game herself. 

"I think I started to drive right at about 9 seconds, and Aaliyah Edwards was guarding [Stuelke]," Clark said after the game. "Edwards completely left her to come double or show on me. So, the read is to give the ball up … I'm giving the ball up 10 times out of 10. There's two people on me. I trust my teammates to make a play, UConn just played great defense." 

Of course, it's much easier to say that since Iowa won than if the Hawkeyes had lost. Clark is smart enough to not say otherwise, but it's fair to wonder if Iowa had lost if she would have regretted that decision. 

Clark scored just 21 points in the game, her lowest output since late November, and she started 0-6 from three-point range before getting going in the second half. 

Regarding the critical foul call, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma delivered a deadpan response, pointing out that referees called multiple illegal screens on his team, but none on Iowa. 

"There's probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession," the head coach said. "I just know that there were three or four of them called on us and I don't think there were any called on them.

"I guess we just have to get better at not setting illegal screens," he concluded, dryly. 

There's no question that Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes reaching the National Championship is better for the NCAA, better for ESPN, better for women's college basketball and better for fans. Thanks in large part to Clark, women's college hoops is smashing viewership records and leading to sold-out arenas. 

So, everyone – except the UConn Huskies and their fans – got what they wanted. And they got in, in part, thanks to a questionable late-game call. Let the conspiracy theories commence!