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Caitlin Clark and the No. 1 seed Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the three-seeded LSU Tigers 94-87 Monday in the Elite Eight in Albany, N.Y., to advance to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
The rematch of the last year’s national championship game drew a women’s college basketball game record 9.9 million viewers on ESPN.
Iowa Gets Their Revenge On LSU
The Hawkeyes (33-4) avenged their title game loss against the Tigers (31-6) behind 41 points from senior guard Caitlin Clark. She poured in nine 3-pointers, tying an NCAA Tournament record, to go along with seven rebounds and 12 assists
Clark became the first player in tournament history with three career 40+ point games, and it was also Clark’s second career 40+ point and 10+ assist game, which she recorded in last year’s Elite Eight win over Louisville.
Senior guard Kate Martin and junior guard Sydney Affolter also came up big for the Hawkeyes. Martin contributed 21 points, six rebounds and two steals on 8-for-16 shooting, while Affolter added 16 points, five rebounds and one assist to fuel the Iowa win.
Reese Starts Strong, Struggles Following Ankle Injury
LSU forward Angel Reese began the game shooting 5-for-7 for 10 points, guiding the Tigers to a 34-30 lead until suffering an ankle injury. Reese, who had been battling through a right ankle injury since the SEC Tournament, reinjured her ankle when she tumbled into the cameras along the baseline after trying to contest a layup by Clark.
Reese would go just 2-for-14 from the field with seven points following the injury. However, she still managed to come up with 20 rebounds to record her 78th double-double over the last three seasons, the most in Division I in that span.
The Hawkeyes will continue their hunt for the program’s first national championship when they face off against 3-seed UConn on Friday in Cleveland in the national semifinal. South Carolina plays NC State in the other semifinal.
