Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes are going back to the national championship game for the second year in a row after a dramatic, controversial, 71-69, win over the UConn Huskies in the Final Four on Friday night. There, they’ll face the South Carolina Gamecocks for a chance to win the first women’s basketball title in school history.
The moving screen call on UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards in the closing seconds will be the biggest story, but Iowa was only in front at that point because they overcame a double-digit deficit. Here’s how Clark and Co. battled back from a slow start and adjusted to UConn’s ultra-aggressive defensive approach.
Get out and run
On the very first possession of the second half, Kate Martin picked off a pass from Ashlynn Shade and took off the other way. She pushed drove towards the paint, collapsed the defense and kicked it out to Gabbie Marshall for a wide-open 3-pointer that caught nothing but net.
No team was more effective in transition than the Hawkeyes this season. Transition opportunities accounted for over 20% of their offense, and they scored a nation-leading 1.172 points per possession on the break. They weren’t getting those chances in the first half. “That…
