DALLAS - Edwardsville's Kate Martin scored seven points and also had seven rebounds and two assists, while National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark scored 41 points to help Iowa upset top-ranked, previously undefeated and defending national champion South Carolina 77-73 in the second semifinal of the NCAA Women's Final Four Friday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Hawkeyes' win snapped a 42-game winning streak for the Gamecocks, who hadn't lost in over a year and was the seventh-longest winning streak in NCAA women's college basketball history. Clark made history by becoming the first player in the history of the women's tournament to record back-to-back 40-plus point games, having scored 41 points in the regional final on Monday in Iowa's 97-83 win over Louisville.
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It was a close game throughout, with Iowa leading almost the entire second half, save for a brief period when South Carolina led in the third quarter. Clark put the Hawkeyes in the lead for good with a three that made it 62-60 and led by as much as nine points in the second half, but the Gamecocks rallied to cut it to two points late. Clark sank four clutch free throws in the final minute to clinch the game and send Iowa to the final.
Guard Zia Cooke led South Carolina with 24 points, while the 2022 national Player of the Year, Aliyah Boston, had eight points, Kamilla Cordoso hit for 14 points and Raven Johnson had 13 points to help keep the Gamecocks in the game.
South Carolina's season ends at 36-1, while the Hawkeyes go to 31-6 and will face LSU, a 79-72 winner over Virginia Tech in the first semifinal, in the national championship game Sunday afternoon, with the tip-off set for 2:30 p.m. The final will be televised on ABC nationally and locally on KDNL-TV, channel 30, the St. Louis ABC affiliate.
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