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Iowa falls to LSU 102-85 in NCAA Title game

On3 imageby:Tom Kakert•04/02/23•

HawkeyeReport

Caitlin Clark(1)
Photo; Dennis Scheidt

LSU came into the national title game averaging just five made three point field goals per game. On Sunday afternoon reserve guard Jasmine Carson came off the bench and knocked down five triples in the first half as the Tigers built a 17 point lead at the break on their way to a 102-85 win over Iowa.

The Hawkeyes end their season with a 31-7 record and finished second in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa was once again paced by All American guard Caitlin Clark, who finished with 30 points in the title contest. She also set the record for most points in the NCAA Tournament with 191.

Iowa got off to a terrific start in the national title game, jumping on the Tigers out of the gate. Iowa led 7-3 after a very deep three from Clark and LSU called a quick timeout. LSU quickly came back and took a 10-9 lead before Clark hit another triple to put Iowa up 12-10. That would be the last time that Iowa would hold a lead in the game.

A pair of free throws by Clark tied the game at 20, but the Tigers finished the first quarter on a 7-2 run with Carson hitting a three to give them a 27-22 lead.

The second quarter was the ten minutes where the game started to get away from Iowa. A combination of foul trouble and red shot shooting from LSU led to a 32-20 scoring period and a massive 59-42 advantage for LSU at the break. Hurting Iowa in the period was a foul trouble with Clark picking up her third foul before halftime and Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock have a pair of fouls.

Iowa came out and tried to make a dent in the LSU lead in the third quarter. But, early on it was all Tigers. A pair of free throws by Angel Reese gave the Tigers a 63-42 lead with 8:09 left in the quarter.

Then the Hawkeyes went on a 12-0 run that was capped by three pointer from Gabbie Marshall. With Iowa down just 63-54, Iowa was back in the game. The LSU lead was down to seven, 69-62 with 2:58 left in the third quarter after Czinano scored. She finished with 13 points and fouled out with 6:25 left in the game.

LSU closed the period on a 6-2 run to go into the fourth period with a 75-64 lead. The end of the period was marred by the fourth foul being called on Czinano and then a strange technical called on Clark, which was her fourth foul.

Ladazhia Williams scored a layup and LSU was up 83-69 with 7:18 left in the game and Iowa had to call a timeout to try and regroup. Williams again scored to put the Tigers up 93-78 with 3:24 remaining in the game. But, Iowa kept fighting. Clark with a layup and the lead was down to 13 points with 2:57 left. From there it was the Tigers putting a wrap on the game, including a banked in three for the final points of the game.

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