2024 ladies’s Closing 4 – It was speculated to be Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Bueckers

CLEVELAND – Hannah Stuelke stood tall inside towards among the finest publish gamers within the nation.

Kate Martin took a shot to the nostril, left the courtroom to cease the bleeding, shoved tissues inside her nostrils after which got here again to attain one essential basket after the subsequent down the stretch.

Gabbie Marshall drew a game-deciding offensive foul after locking down Paige Bueckers all evening.

Again and again, a recreation billed as Caitlin Clark versus Paige Bueckers become one thing a lot completely different. Clark was not the main scorer for Iowa; Bueckers was ineffective down the stretch. Neither one made the largest play with the sport on the road.

Relatively, nearly everybody on the Iowa roster stepped up — from defensive tenacity, to offensive boards, paint factors and perhaps probably the most essential play of all — Marshall drawing the foul with 3.9 seconds left. The tip end result? An epic 71-69 comeback victory over UConn Friday evening to punch a ticket to the nationwide championship recreation towards South Carolina.

“That is the way it’s been each single recreation all the season,” Martin stated. “We do not win any of our video games with out each single particular person on this crew. The media performs it up for what it needs to be, for viewership and every little thing, however we do not win that recreation with out each single particular person on our bench, each single particular person within the recreation. I believed all people did an important job of stepping up after they wanted to.

“Caitlin and Paige are each nice gamers and so they deserve their flowers. They deserve their recognition, however all people on UConn deserves the popularity and everybody on Iowa does too.”

It turned clear early on that the factors wouldn’t come so simply for Clark, who struggled together with her trademark shot. Relatively than panic, her teammates simply stepped up and did their jobs. Stuelke battled inside with Aaliyah Edwards, enjoying maybe her most full recreation of the season.

She scored a team-high 23 factors on 9-of-12 taking pictures, her highest level whole in an NCAA match recreation. Her earlier excessive? 13 factors. Afterward, teammates praised the way in which she performed with confidence. Stuelke herself stated, “I feel from the soar I used to be being aggressive. I believed I ready higher for this recreation than I did for the final.”

“She performed with an power about herself [that] she actually might go in there and dominate,” Clark stated. “She goes toe-to-toe with Aaliyah Edwards, who in my thoughts is likely one of the greatest gamers within the nation. It was bodily together with her. Guarded her effectively. Boxed her out. And he or she wasn’t afraid to take it at her both, I believed.

“Once I began driving, they threw two individuals at me. They had been going to make me surrender the ball. And I feel that is one of many biggest methods our program has developed over the course of me being right here. I used to really feel like I needed to do every little thing. Now, I’ve a lot belief in my teammates and my teammates have a lot belief in me.”

Whereas Stuelke went toe-to-toe with Edwards inside, Marshall drew the first project on Bueckers. Marshall relishes each alternative to be the defensive stopper for the Hawkeyes, although it has meant much less deal with scoring. Her teammates stated what Marshall does could not essentially present up on the stat sheet, however her effort towards Bueckers was noticeable — stat sheet or not.

Within the second half, as Iowa started its comeback, Marshall utterly locked her down. Bueckers had 4 whole subject objectives after the break — and solely three factors within the fourth quarter, scoring 17 whole factors on 7-of-17 taking pictures.

It was Marshall who drew the essential offensive (and controversial) foul on Edwards that helped safe the win — after figuring out UConn was going to attempt to get the ball to Bueckers, and deciding to remain hooked up to her hip.

“That one, we knew popping out of that timeout, we wanted to get an enormous cease,” Marshall stated. “That one hit slightly bit completely different as a result of I knew we wanted it so dangerous. I actually knew that they had been going to attempt to get it to Paige. I did not know the way it was gonna occur. However I simply tried to remain on her hip. Glad I received the decision.”

Requested how her efficiency on Bueckers ranked amongst her different defensive video games, Marshall stated, “We knew coming in that she was among the finest in our recreation and we wanted to have plenty of consideration on her. I used to be going to attempt to deny her the ball wherever she was, and even when we had been within the zone we all the time needed to know the place she was.

“I all the time prefer to go towards one of the best of one of the best. When you’ll be able to defend Paige to one of the best of your means like that it ranks up there. This was a enjoyable one.”

Different teammates identified the job Sydney Affolter did, grabbing six offensive rebounds. Clark ended up scoring 21 factors, however she did it on 7-of-18 taking pictures and solely went 3-of-11 from 3-point vary. Halfway by the fourth quarter, Iowa constructed on a three-point lead with buckets from Stuelke, Martin and Marshall. Martin, in truth, scored six of the crew’s ultimate 9 factors.

“Kate was big down the stretch,” Clark stated. “Made massive performs for us. And that is the rationale we received the sport. It wasn’t simply Caitlin, it wasn’t simply Hannah, it was all 5 gamers on the courtroom – got here up and made massive performs at actually essential instances.”

Now, Iowa has one ultimate recreation — hoping to be taught from its nationwide championship loss to LSU a 12 months in the past to attempt to write a distinct ending.

They know Clark will get high billing, the way in which she all the time does. However additionally they know it would take a complete crew effort. The way in which it did towards UConn.

“That speaks to our tradition,” Marshall stated. “You have got women that come right here and purchase into their function. The largest factor is to go on the market and do your function to one of the best of your means and also you noticed that tonight, whether or not it was scoring, rebounding, Sydney getting O-boards, Caitlin doing what she does, Kate arising in clutch moments, me defending, everybody has their function and everybody did it to one of the best of their means tonight.”