Sunday’s national championship game between LSU and Iowa — a 102-85 victory for Kim Mulkey and the Lady Tigers — represented a huge step forward in the popularity of women’s college basketball.
It also drew a record-9.9 million viewers: That’s more views than the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl in college football’s bowl season. But it didn’t represent a complete victory for the sport, as inconsistent officiating, including a much-criticized technical against Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, became a massive talking point during and after the game.
The game featured 37 fouls, 18 against Iowa and 19 against LSU. But LSU’S LaDhazia Williams finished the game with four fouls while Angel Reese and Alexis Morris finished with three apiece. Iowa’s Clark had four fouls, while fellow starters Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock fouled out.
John Adams, the NCAA’s former national coordinator of officiating for men’s basketball from 2008 through 2015, said the officials’ performance detracted from that of the players.
“From a fan standpoint, there was enormous disappointment with how the game was officiated because the best players were not playing,” Adams told…
