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Lisa Bluder on how Iowa battled back vs. UConn in their Final Four matchup

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•04/05/24

The Iowa Hawkeyes managed to battle back in their women’s Final Four matchup against the UConn Huskies on Friday night, despite Caitlin Clark struggling for much of the first half. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes were tied with the Huskies at 51-51. Ahead of the final quarter, ESPN’s Holly Rowe caught up with Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder to hear her thoughts.

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“Yeah I thought we got some defense to offense, which kind of got us going in the quarter. Obviously, Caitlin hit one. That always gets us going a little bit. But obviously, Hannah Stuelke’s (23 points) playing a great game inside, too. They have a little bit of foul trouble. We need to keep going after it,” Bluder said.

Iowa trailed by six at halftime.

How do the Hawkeyes plan on taking advantage of UConn being in foul trouble? “We’ve got to keep pushing. We’ve got to keep driving. Gotta have back to back drives, because they’re pretty good at recovering on that first one.”

Does Caitlin Clark need to get going or can her team win without a special performance from their superstar? “I’d take both if I was a betting woman,” Bluder laughed.

Iowa managed to prevail 71-69 but it came down the final seconds. Clark managed to finish with 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Paige Bueckers finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists for UConn. Hannah Stuelke finished with 23 points and three rebounds for Iowa.

The game was extremely physical with both teams scratching and clawing for the coveted spot in the 2024 National Championship.

Iowa managed to pull out the win even though Clark had one of her worst shooting performances, connecting on three of her 11 shots from downtown. The game didn’t end without controversy. UConn had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen with 4.6 seconds left.

Edwards also pumped in 17 points for the Huskies, who were back in the Final Four, a place that has been extremely familiar for them under Geno Auriemma.

Next up, Iowa will face off against undefeated South Carolina on Sunday for the 2024 National Championship. The Gamecocks will be aiming to become the first undefeated women’s basketball team since UConn did it in 2015-2016.