The Athletic has live coverage of Iowa vs. South Carolina in the women’s national championship game.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Caitlin Clark’s final assist of the night won’t count. It came moments after the final buzzer, when she launched the game ball from midcourt to her brother Colin, seated eight rows behind the Iowa team bench. After catching a perfect pass — what else would you expect from Clark? — he tucked the ball under his arm, and later, inside a black jacket to conceal it.
It will be added — like the other game balls and pieces of championship nets — to Clark’s growing collection of keepsakes in storage at home at her parents’ home in West Des Moines, Iowa. These are the things that are hers to keep. The rest of it — the records (those are on loan until another generational talent comes along) and the wins (those will stay accumulated in the history books of Iowa women’s basketball), she doesn’t carry with her. But these pieces of rubber and nylon are what she’ll keep when she finally leaves this team in two weeks and moves on to the WNBA.
But first, Clark earned a second trip to the Final Four after avenging last season’s championship loss with Monday’s 94-87 win over LSU in the regional final. She was spectacular against the Tigers, finishing…
