Iowa Hawkeyes advance to second-straight Final Four with revenge victory over LSU
Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes are one step closer to achieving the ultimate goal with Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers now in the rearview mirror.
An Elite Eight matchup for the ages in women's college basketball lived up to the hype as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese squared off in a rematch of the 2023 national championship. With a 94-87 win in hand, the Iowa Hawkeyes advance to a second-consecutive Final Four appearance for the first time in program history.
The duo traded blows early as Clark was hot from behind the arc and Reese was a force under the glass. When Iowa's production dipped in the second quarter, Reese aggrevated an ankle injury that balanced the game to a tie at halftime.
Clark stayed hot and dropped 41 points, going 9-20 from deep and adding 12 assists and seven boards. The bulk of her help offensively came from Kate Martin with 21 and Sydney Affolter with 16.
With Reese leading the way, the Tigers found their success in their size advantage. LSU crashed the boards with 50 to Iowa's 36, with 19 coming on the offensive end for the Tigers.
Despite Hannah Stuelke getting into foul trouble and sitting most of the third quarter, LSU was unable to capitalize in the second half and began to fall behind.
In the end, Reese fouled out with 1:45 to go, sealing the Tigers' fate. She finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds, splitting her boards evenly.
The Hawkeyes head to their second-straight Final Four appearance and will play the winner of fellow No. 1 seed USC and No. 3 UConn on Friday, April 5.
Either matchup provides another star-studded affair for the Hawkeyes as freshman phenom JuJu Watkins leads the Trojans and Paige Bueckers leads the Huskies. Both possess the scoring prowess to challenge Clark on the scoreboard.
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