Three years ago, Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark, both freshmen and two of the nation’s top four recruits, battled in the Sweet 16 of the River Walk Region in San Antonio.
Clark dropped 21 points with four triples and recorded five assists while playing all but one minute that day. Bueckers shot 7-18 from the field, hauled in nine rebounds and had eight dimes, but her 18 points did not lead the team. Fellow No. 1 recruit Christyn Williams led the top-seeded UConn women’s basketball team that afternoon with 27 points (18 in the first half) while playing all 40 minutes.
Connecticut held an 11-point advantage after three quarters but delivered the dagger with a 9-0 run in the final frame. It helped secure a 20-point win over the fifth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes and a trip to their 15th consecutive Elite Eight.
Now, two of the game’s top superstars and their powerhouse programs collide in a battle of titans on college basketball’s biggest stage. A shot at the national championship is on the line as the Portland 3 Region champion-Huskies battle the Albany 2 Region champion-Hawkeyes tonight in Cleveland.
Resilience has propelled UConn to their 23rd and most unprecedented Final Four appearance. The Huskies have played with as few as seven healthy players, have six different athletes who are out for the year and began the season 4-3. Yet Connecticut has played the hand they have been dealt, dominating Big East play and most recently collecting two narrow victories in Portland.
The 2021 National Player of the Year has played a huge part behind the Huskies’ 15th Final Four in 16 tournaments. In seven postseason contests, Bueckers is putting up numbers only LeBron James has averaged in any seven-game stretch between the National Basketball Association, WNBA and NCAA over the past 25 years.
That alone is some elite company to be in, but her impact on the team goes well beyond what the numbers say. Amidst every injury the team has faced, Bueckers has taken significant strides in her game. Between maintaining possession and being a force at the four for UConn, the redshirt junior has become an all-around superstar.
Bueckers has an incredible supporting cast, starting with senior forward Aaliyah Edwards. The Wooden All-American might not be averaging a double-double, but she controls the paint as well as any forward in the nation. Edwards’ 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game are a testament to that, but include her 35 blocks, and there is a reason why offenses struggle down low.
Senior guard Nika Mühl was the other Husky who played all 40 minutes of Monday’s Elite Eight thriller. Mühl spent the entire fourth quarter avoiding picking up her fifth foul, allowing her to continue commanding the floor. The senior guard’s poise fits in nicely with her 28 assists in four NCAA Tournament games. As long as Mühl stays out of significant foul trouble, Connecticut’s offense should be able to attack effectively.
It might also get a major boost from Big East Freshman of the Year Ashlynn Shade, who only scored five total points in Oregon. Shade took 10 shots during those two games at the Moda Center, but the more that she takes in Cleveland, the more likely it that is she will become the Huskies’ second-leading scorer from the first weekend. Outside of providing points, first-year guard KK Arnold has had a major impact on UConn’s transition game. Regardless of how many shot opportunities she gets, watch for the energetic guard to be disruptive on defense.
The Huskies’ three-person bench, especially redshirt freshman Ice Brady, will be just as important in this contest as every starter. Brady provided 19 significant minutes off the bench on Monday, and if she replicates her efficient 3-4 evening, then Connecticut will keep things close with the reigning national runners-up.
Iowa got their revenge over the third-seeded LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight in Albany to return to the Final Four. After coming up short last year in Dallas, head coach Lisa Bluder and the Big Ten Tournament champions have redemption on their minds.
Clark is the lone player averaging more points in the NCAA Tournament amongst the remaining programs with 32.3 per game. From the Division I all-time scoring record to the most 40-point games in March Madness history, the two-time Player of the Year has either broken or tied a plethora of longstanding records. Clark is as much, if not more, of an all-around phenom as Bueckers is. It is not just because she is averaging 7.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists.
Only New York Liberty superstar Sabrina Ionescu has more triple-doubles in women’s college basketball history than Clark’s 17. People sometimes forget how effective the First Team All-American is defensively with her 66 steals and 20 blocks because of what she does on offense. She plays a huge part in the Hawkeyes’ 91.9 points per game, but she also makes it difficult for anyone who guards her to muster any offense.
While most of the attention will be on the battle between Clark and Bueckers, sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke contesting Edwards could be very exciting to watch. Stuelke might not grab as many rebounds, but she did have a double-double against a tough Colorado Buffaloes team. While she might not be able to go toe-to-toe with the All-American Honorable Mention on the glass, the sophomore forward will strike with her shot selection at an uber-efficient 62.5% clip from the floor.
Iowa’s biggest three-point threats outside of college basketball’s all-time leading scorer are veteran guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. Both have the second and third-highest three-point shooting percentages among Hawkeyes with 100+ three-point attempts. Martin complements her three-point stroke with unrivaled aggression on the glass at 6.8 rebounds per night. While all but 14 of her field goals this season have come from downtown, Marshall makes a living forcing turnovers.
Fellow fifth-year guard Molly Davis helps with Iowa’s ball movement through her 93 assists, a solid complement to her 53.9% clip from the floor. Davis could be very dangerous when it comes to Hawkeyes’ transition game as she has two reliable options every time her team is on the breakaway. That leaves Sydney Affolter as Iowa’s X-factor. She is as much of a double-double threat as anyone else on the Hawkeyes with 8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Although she will likely not shoot perfectly from the floor like she did in the Elite Eight, the junior guard will not hesitate to let it fly from downtown.
What it will come down to in the Forest City is how everyone else outside of the two superstars does. The other six Huskies that played beyond Bueckers shot 17-35 from the field in the Elite Eight. Clark’s teammates combined to shoot 19-40. Whichever team can get more offense from their supporting cast will advance to Sunday’s national championship game.
UConn and Iowa battle in the second game of tonight’s Final Four doubleheader. Tip-off from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is, at the earliest, at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.