DALLAS — Iowa’s dreams of a national championship fell short on Sunday afternoon. 

In both teams’ first appearance in the championship, Iowa fell to LSU, 102-85, in the national title game at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“I’m so proud of my team,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “I’m proud of the women they are. I’m proud of what they stand for. The Iowa fans that came here in droves, I’m so thankful for them. I’m thankful that I get to coach at a university like the University of Iowa.”

As the final buzzer sounded, the Tigers ran to the center of the court as LSU fans — some dressed in sparkly blazers to match head coach Kim Mulkey — cheered from the stands. 

The Hawkeyes gathered in a circle following their loss then fought through the sea of Tigers to get off the court. In the handshake line, Mulkey pulled Hawkeye junior and national player of the year Caitlin Clark aside before she left the court to exchange words.

“She’s one of the best basketball coaches of all time, and it shows,” Clark said. “She only said really kind things to me in the handshake line, so I’m very grateful for that too.”

Hawkeyes fight through foul trouble

Iowa quickly got into foul trouble in the national title game on Sunday.

Referees called multiple fouls throughout the first quarter, leading to nine free throw attempts from LSU in the first quarter and four from Iowa. Center Monika Czinano and forward McKenna Warnock both picked up two fouls in the first, and they headed to the bench for an extended period of time. 

While Bluder attempted to ask for an explanation from the officials for the fouls, they wouldn’t give her one.

“It’s very frustrating because I feel like I can’t talk to them,” Bluder said. “They won’t even listen. That’s what’s frustrating is there wasn’t even a conversation that could be had.”

The foul calls continued into the second  — Clark picked up her second just three minutes into the quarter. She got a third foul with three minutes left in the first half, and headed to the bench. Her scoring slowed down as well, notching just two points in the second quarter.

Clark’s absence from the court allowed the Tigers to pull away, as LSU outscored Iowa, 32-20, in the second.

Warnock picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter, forcing her to the bench. With one minute remaining in the third, Czinano picked up her fourth on a shooting foul, and Clark got a technical to put her up to four fouls. 

“I thought they called it very, very tight,” Clark said postgame. “I don’t know about the two push-offs in the second quarter. I’m sure they saw that I pushed off and they called it and whatnot, and then hit with the technical foul in the third for throwing the ball under the basket. Sometimes that’s how things go. I thought all I could do is respond and come back out there and keep fighting and keep trying to help this team crawl back into the game.”

Clark and Warnock returned to the floor to start the fourth quarter, and Czinano followed soon after. But Czinano picked up her fifth and final foul with just over six minutes left in the game, ending her Hawkeye career. In her final game as a Hawkeye, Czinano registered 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting and six rebounds.

Warnock, also playing her last game as a Hawkeye, fouled out with a minute and a half left to play. She waved to the crowd as she came off the floor, sitting on the bench after high fives from her teammates. Warnock notched nine points and six rebounds in the national title game.

“I’m telling you, this is brutal,” Bluder said. “It’s really tough to walk out of that locker room today and to not be able to coach Monika and the McKenna ever again, that’s tough.”

Tigers stay hot from the field

The Tigers couldn’t miss in the first half — they shot 75 percent from beyond the arc and 58 percent from the field. In comparison, the Hawkeyes shot 50 percent from the field and 58 percent from the 3-point line.

Guard Jasmine Carson exploded off the bench, notching 21 points just in the first half — including a banked-in 3-pointer on the buzzer.

“Jasmine Carson came off the bench and played extremely well,” Bluder said. “She did better than what we thought. They just were ready to go. They did a great job.”

Carson finished the game with 22 points, and five Tigers registered double figures.

Big Picture

The Hawkeyes finished their most decorated season in program history with a 31-7 record, a Big Ten Tournament championship, and their first-ever appearance in the national title game.