Iowa shocks South Carolina, sets up unforeseen final with LSU

Prior to the national semifinal Friday, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder acknowledged that her team wasn’t the favorite to advance to the Championship game, as they faced No. 1 South Carolina, which hadn’t lost a game in more than a year.

“We know we have an incredible challenge ahead of us, but at the same time, everybody loves an underdog,” Bluder said.

But against the undefeated defending champions, the Hawkeyes looked like anything but a No. 2 seed, as they took control of the game from tipoff, and calmly executed their way to a 77-73 win, to advance to the title game Sunday.

Caitlin Clark was the head of Iowa’s monster, scoring 41 points on 15-31 shooting, dishing 8 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds, while Monika Czinano added 18 points to stun the Gamecocks, who were never able to establish a rhythm in the face of their opponent’s continual disruption.

Hawkeye fans, who had traveled to Seattle en masse to watch their beloved team win the regional, had sat quietly, in tension, throughout the game as the two teams traded buckets and blows. When the final buzzer sounded, they erupted in joyous screams as Clark threw the ball toward the ceiling,…