CLEVELAND — Iowa women’s basketball is looking to continue its streak of beating familiar foes when it takes on UConn in the Final Four on Friday.
The Hawkeyes are coming off of a 94-87 win against the LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight at MVP Arena in Albany, New York — where Caitlin Clark broke the record for most threes made in a career in NCAA history with a 41-point, 12-assist double-double.
Guards Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter also notched double-digits, scoring 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Going into Iowa’s second straight Final Four appearance, head coach Lisa Bluder said the Hawkeyes are doing a better job at protecting their emotional energy and limiting some of the distractions around such a high-profile game. She said she hasn’t required her players to attend as many off-site activities as she did last year.
“You have to protect your emotional energy, and it’s really hard to do when all these people around you, whether it’s parents or people asking you for tickets or a media obligation, you can be exhausted by the time the game starts,” Bluder said.
Heading into this matchup against the Huskies, the Hawkeyes face a team they’ve gone against twice in the last four seasons, with Iowa losing the pair’s last game 86-79 on Nov. 27, 2022. During the contest, UConn was without its star guard, Paige Bueckers, who missed the entire season with a torn ACL.
Clark’s first matchup against the Huskies came in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, where UConn won by 20 points on its way to a record 12th appearance in the national championship. Clark said it’s funny to look back at how young she and Bueckers looked in that game.
Bueckers recorded 18 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, and the Huskies had three other starters score over 15 points, with current Phoenix Mercury guard Christyn Williams leading UConn with 27 points.
Iowa was led by Clark, who finished with 21 points and five assists, and forward McKenna Warnock also recorded a 20-point game.
UConn returns three players from that 2021 game, while the Hawkeyes have four. Both teams like to play up-tempo and share the ball, with Iowa ranking first in the nation in assists with 21.2 per game, while UConn sits in fourth with 19.6.
“We obviously know that they’re a very good team that is very disciplined in all aspects and very well coached,” Martin said. “They have Paige on their team, and we’re not [going to] hold her to zero points, but I think we’re going to change things up, throw some different things at them, and keep them on their toes.”
The task of guarding Bueckers will be on fifth-year senior Gabbie Marshall, who is coming off the LSU game in which she forced two steals. Marshall said Bueckers will be one of the toughest players she has gone against while playing for the Hawkeyes.
“She’s just kind of a smooth player, you know, she takes what the defense gives her, and she doesn’t try to force things too much,” Marshall said. “I think the biggest thing for me is to make things tougher for her and try and be glued to her hip the whole night.”
Forward Addison O’Grady said she grew up watching UConn throughout its dominant run over the last two decades as she was a fan of forward Breanna Stewart, who suited up for the Huskies from 2012-2016.
“It’s kind of crazy that we get to play against them on such a high stage,” O’Grady said.
Associate head coach Jan Jensen said Iowa’s players can’t get too starstruck about playing against such a well-respected team like UConn.
“Regardless if it was Holy Cross or it’s UConn, it’s about keeping that focus and just playing our best brand of basketball,” Jensen said. “You’ve just got to read what they’re doing and be the best version of who we can be.”
