Caitlin Clark describes emotion of returning to Final Four with win over LSU

For just the second time in program history, Iowa is heading to the Final Four. Both have occurred in the last year under the leadership of Caitlin Clark, setting all kinds of records along the way. The Hawkeyes’ latest conquest came on Monday against LSU in Albany, winning a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

The moment Iowa lost last season, the goal for Clark was to get back to the Final Four and attempt to cut down the nets herself. Mission accomplished and Clark did so with a 40-point performance.

She described the feeling of a second consecutive run to the Final Four, admitting this year’s win felt better than it did in 2023.

“This one probably feels a little better,” Clark said in a postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “It’s my senior year with this group. A lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the year with the people we lost. All we did was work really hard. To get back here, it was really hard. This region was loaded with so much talent. Job’s not finished.”

No, Caitlin, the job is not done quite yet. She wants to win a national championship and just two games separate her from doing so.

Iowa will face off against the winner of the later Monday night game between UConn and USC. On the other side of the bracket sit undefeated South Carolina and NC State. No matter who the Hawkeyes line up against, a tough matchup will be waiting for them.

But if there is confidence in anybody in college basketball to get the job done, it’s Clark.

Caitlin Clark believes defense earned Iowa win vs. LSU

At halftime, the game was tied and LSU had to feel confident about where they were, especially after a poor start. Iowa began to chip away though, especially as Clark began to get going from deep. She wound up making six three-pointers, crediting the confidence she has in herself.

However, Clark believes the second-half defense is why Iowa wound up winning. Every time LSU began to make a push, the Hawkeyes responded well and put an end to their run.

“We really knew it was on the defensive end,” Clark said. We knew we were going to be able to be fine on offense. We’ve been fine on offense all year. I think it was just getting stops and being physical.

“They rebounded the ball really well. But we weathered every storm. You got to give them a lot of credit, they had a great year.”