The Hawkeyes advanced to the national title game for the first time in school history with a 77-73 victory in front of a full house at American Airlines Center.
“Probably everybody in America picked South Carolina, deservedly so,” Clark said. “They’ve been ranked No. 1 all year. They’ve won 42 straight basketball games. Why wouldn’t you pick them?“But at the same time, the people in our locker room believed in us. That’s all you need is a belief in one another, a confidence in one another. ... We’re clearly not as tall as them. We’re clearly not as athletic as them.
Iowa shot 61.8 percent from two-point range, the highest for any team against South Carolina in more than four years. Bluder explained that the Hawkeyes had success in ball-screen actions, so they emphasized that throughout the game. South Carolina shot just 39 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc.
Iowa’s magical season continues after their second trip to the Final Four and with a program-record 31 wins. The Hawkeyes were the highest-scoring team in the nation, thanks in large part to Clark, the two-time Big Ten player of the year and this year’s Associated Press national player of the year. Boston was named the Naismith defensive player of the year for the second consecutive year and is just the 10th player to be named first-team AP all-American three times. Staley was named the Naismith coach of the year for the third time in the past four seasons.Iowa opened the game on an 8-2 run for an early advantage as Clark got loose early. Multiple defenders got the assignment of chasing her, and it didn’t matter.
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