No. 3 LSU and No. 2 Iowa make Women’s Final Four

The No. 3 LSU Tigers and the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes punched their tickets into the Final Four of the women’s NCAA tournament over the weekend. The Tigers advanced after defeating No. 9 Miami 54-42 and Iowa defeated No. 5 Louisville, 97-83.

Hawkeye guard Caitlin Clark put on a show after dropping a 41-point triple-double, the first in NCAA tournament history. Iowa returns to the Final Four for the first time since 1993.

https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessWBB/status/1640197526304313346

Hawkeyes are Flying

Iowa (30-6) produced a championship-level performance against Louisville as Clark put together her 11th triple-double of her career. She also became the first player in D1 history to score 900+ points and 300+ assists in a single season.

CLARK CAN!@CaitlinClark22 is the first player in DI history to tally 900+ points and 300+ assists in a single season#MarchMadness x @IowaWBB pic.twitter.com/vivUYMQqD4

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 27, 2023

The Hawkeyes made 16 3-pointers (eight coming from Clark), breaking their previous record of 13 against Gonzaga in 2011.

Louisville took an early eight-point lead at tip-off before Clark scored Iowa’s first seven points. The Cardinals trailed by five at halftime, managing to reduce the deficit to one before a Hawkeye 17-6 run.

With six minutes left in the game, Iowa opened their lead to 22 points before Louisville’s 13-1 run to bring the game within 10 with 2:10 left on the clock.

Hailey Van Lith had 27 points and Olivia Cochran had 20 points with 14 rebounds to lead the Cardinals (26-12).

With 22 seconds remaining on the clock, Clark left the game and received a standing ovation from the Iowa fans.

Moments that last a lifetime.#Hawkeyes x #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/pfdVrLkCAu

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 27, 2023

LSU Edges Closer to Final

The Tigers (32-2) advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 15 years after beating the Hurricanes (22-13) on Sunday night.

Alexis Morris led the Tigers with 21 points and Angel Reese managed 18 rebounds after struggling on the night, scoring only 13 points.

Head coach Kim Mulkey takes LSU to the Final Four after joining just two years ago from Baylor, where she managed three NCAA titles.

LSU shot 30.2% from field goal range, 1-12 from three-point range. Miami was 0-15 behind the arch, shooting 31.6% from the field in the low-scoring game.

Jasmyne Roberts led the Hurricanes with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Miami had a tremendous campaign, rallying back against No. 8 Oklahoma State in the first round, surmounting No. 1 Indiana in the second round and squeezing past No. 4 Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen.

https://twitter.com/justwsports/status/1640178135990689793

Looking Ahead

The Hawkeyes wait to play either No. 2 Maryland or undefeated No. 1 South Carolina.

The Tigers will face either No. 1 Virginia or No. 3 Ohio State.