What a weekend! Was that the most epic Final Four of all time, or am I just still feeling LSU's sparkle?
Beating the buzzer — Claire Watkins |
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LSU offense explodes to win first national title
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C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Safe to say we met the real LSU Tigers in the postseason.
- LSU exploded to score the most points in NCAA championship history en route to a 102-85 win over Iowa and the program's first national title.
- The Tigers outscored the Hawkeyes 32-20 in the second quarter, finishing the game shooting 64.7% from beyond the arc.
LSU sophomore Angel Reese notched her 34th double-double, setting the NCAA record for the most in a single season.
- Senior Alexis Morris scored or assisted on 27 of LSU's second-half points to ice the game.
With the win in just her second year at the helm, LSU coach Kim Mulkey became the third winningest head coach in NCAA women's tournament history.
- After winning three titles at Baylor, Mulkey became the first coach to lead two different women's programs to a national title.
Bottom line: LSU rode their underdog energy into the postseason and pulled off the upset with a little bit of shooting magic.
- “Nobody thought we were gonna be here," Reese said after the game.
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'Frustrating' foul calls plague title game
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Both teams struggled with accumulative fouls as the refereeing became one of the biggest topics of the game.
- By the end of the first half, six of 10 starters on each team had at least two fouls out of a possible five.
The game featured 37 total fouls, with 19 called on Iowa and 18 on LSU.
- Iowa top scorer Caitlin Clark received a fourth foul in the third quarter on a technical, after pushing the ball out of bounds without looking for an official.
- Three of Iowa’s starters finished the game with at least four fouls, and two Hawkeyes fouled out.
“I can’t comment on the officials. It’s very frustrating because I feel like I can’t talk to them,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said.
- “I was really bummed that someone that has made me a really good player had to spend the last five minutes on the bench,” Clark said of teammate Monika Czinano, who fouled out in the fourth quarter.
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Caitlin Clark's record-setting tournament ends
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Iowa junior Caitlin Clark scored 30 points in the loss despite dealing with foul trouble throughout the game.
- Clark added eight assists and two rebounds as the Hawkeyes struggled to match the LSU offense.
The 21-year-old broke more individual records early in the game.
- Her 191 points, 60 assists and 32 made 3-pointers are all NCAA Tournament records, with the points record surpassing Sheryl Swoopes' 177.
- Clark was responsible for 63% of Iowa's total offense in the tournament.
"I want my legacy to be the impact that I can have on young kids and the people in the state of Iowa, and I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season," Clark said.
- "I'm lucky enough that this isn't my last time wearing an Iowa uniform."
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Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Exhibition Tour Hits the Road!
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The Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Exhibition Tour features a team of professional volleyball athletes traveling across the U.S. to play a series of exhibition matches against top college programs while promoting the sport at a grassroots level and previewing the fall championship season.
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LSU’s secret weapon: Jasmine Carson and the bench
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Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
With a number of starters in foul trouble early, much of the first half of Sunday's game came down to the bench.
- LSU's bench outscored Iowa's 30 to eight over the course of the game.
The Tigers were led by senior Jasmine Carson, who scored 21 points and didn't miss a shot in the first half.
- Carson finished with 22 points, while Last-Tear Poa contributed six points on two made 3-pointers in just seven minutes of playing time.
Carson was one of LSU's nine transfers in the offseason.
- The 22-year-old was averaging 8.4 points going into the title game and hadn't scored in LSU's last three games.
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What’s next for South Carolina?
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Before Sunday's fireworks, one of the biggest results came on Friday night.
- The previously undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks fell to Iowa 77-73, snapping a 42-game winning streak.
- The game served as a curtain call for Boston and many of South Carolina's vaunted 2019 recruits.
Aliyah Boston played 25 minutes total after picking up two fouls in the first half.
- The Hawkeyes packed the paint on defense, clogging the path to the rim and forcing South Carolina to rely on outside shooting.
After the game, head coach Dawn Staley defended her squad.
- “This team exemplifies how you need to approach basketball on the court and off the court," she said. "And I do think that that’s sometimes brought into the game, and it hurts.”
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Aliyah Boston is heading to the WNBA
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
South Carolina senior Aliyah Boston announced on Saturday that she will not use her final year of COVID eligibility and will declare for the WNBA Draft.
- After the Gamecocks' Final Four loss, Boston still hadn't made a decision.
- "I was going to have to really write down the pros and cons of everything whether we won or not. It would still have to be something that I would have to consider,” she said on Friday.
Bottom line: The Indiana Fever hold the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft — taking place on April 10 — and Boston is the presumptive top choice.
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Sopha Smith can’t stop scoring
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Gary Rohman/USA TODAY Sports
2022 NWSL MVP Sophia Smith has scored four goals in her first two league games.
- Smith scored her first career hat trick on Saturday, as Portland took down the Kansas City Current 4-1 in a rematch of the 2022 NWSL final.
Smith had two goals from open play and one from a penalty, which she drew.
- “I love coming and playing in a stadium where the crowd is against you ... it’s fun to put away a few goals and hear silence," she said after the game.
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San Diego stays perfect
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Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports
San Diego joins Portland as the only teams to win their first two NWSL games.
- After a win against Chicago last week, the Wave defeated the North Carolina Courage 3-1 on Saturday.
2022 Golden Boot winner Alex Morgan leads the team with three goals.
- 18-year old forward Jaedyn Shaw has also scored in both games.
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Angel Reese hit the "you can't see me" gesture Caitlin Clark made viral in the Elite Eight as the seconds ticked off the clock in the NCAA championship game. |
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Courtesy of Nike
Nike premiered the USWNT 2023 World Cup home (pictured here) and away jerseys early Monday morning. |
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