Unbelievable: Caitlin Clark Said Choosing Iowa Women Basketball Was The Biggest Mistake She Has Ever Made….
The rematch is set. Iowa and LSU clash on Monday in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament. The teams last met in the national championship game a year ago with the Tigers defeating the Hawkeyes 102-85 for the first title in program history. The memorable March Madness game ended with LSU star Angel Reese showing a “you can’t see me” gesture to Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark before pointing to her ring finger. After No. 1 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed LSU both advanced in the Albany Regional on Saturday, Clark shared her early thoughts on the anticipated rematch.
“Anytime you have a chance to go up against somebody you lost to, it brings a little more energy,” Clark said postgame. “At this point in the tournament every single team is good, whether you’re playing West Virginia, whether you’re playing Colorado, whether you’re playing LSU you prep the exact same way. You come in the exact same mindset.”
The Hawkeyes played arguably their best game so far of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, defeating No. 5 seed Colorado, 89-68, in the Sweet 16. Clark scored a game high 29 points and dished out 15 assists while shooting 59.1% from the field. Iowa trailed for only 18 seconds.
“I think overall it’s just going to be a really great game for women’s basketball,” Clark said. “[LSU is] really solid one through five. We know we are going to have to rebound the basketball. But obviously I don’t know the ins and outs of everything about them because we haven’t gone through the scout yet. But more than anything I think just building off this win today, I think this was the first time in about three games we were able to put together what felt like a complete basketball game on both ends of the floor, whether it was in transition or on defense or really executing our offense. I think being able to build off that and take that momentum into our next game.”
LSU knocked off No. 2 seed UCLA, 78-69, on Saturday after closing the game on a 14-2 run in the final three minutes. The duo of Flau’jae Johnson and Angel Reese combined for 40 points and 23 rebounds to help the Tigers move on in their quest to defend the national championship.
Clark said she rarely thought about the loss to LSU at the end of last season, but instead focused on the next game ahead.
“Ever since this season started, my focus is like 1-0 every single time we take the court,” Clark said. “I think that’s exactly what Coach (Lisa) Bluder preaches. I’m not caught up in the past, not caught up in the future. I try to keep my feet right in the present and be where my feet are, and prepare one game at a time. I don’t think I wouldn’t be able to be the player I am if I was too worried about what has happened or what is going to happen.”
Iowa’s season will continue on Monday after a 89-68 win over Colorado in the Sweet-16. It’s the second straight year that the Hawkeyes have defeated Colorado in the Sweet-16. The Hawkeyes were a different level on offense to start off in Albany. Unlike earlier this week, Iowa was utilizing a variety of players to score the basketball. Only four Hawkeyes scored in the entire game against West Virginia, but five players scored in the first five minutes.
Throughout the past couple of weeks, Clark has been taking a lot of threes and she made an effort to get to the rim against Colorado. She converted a couple of difficult layups early, but she also got her teammates involved. The senior guard dished out six assists in the first quarter and helped elevate.
After a rough first quarter for Stuelke, she got going in the second half with five quick points to help give Iowa a double-digit lead. The Hawkeyes continued to piece together on offense and looked like a totally different team than the one from the round of 32. Iowa shot 61 percent in the first-half while limiting Colorado to 34 percent from the field.
