The thrilling game between Iowa State and UW in the Final Four ended in controversy after an offensive foul on the Huskies took the ball out of UW's hands with less than five seconds left in what was then a 70-69 game. wrapped in
The call was on Aaliyah Edwards, and as Paige Bueckers came around to receive the pass, he was whistled to Gabby Marshall's moving screen. UW never got the ball back, and in the end, Iowa State won his game 71-69, advancing to its second consecutive national championship game.
Must read:Iowa women's basketball advances to championship game through second-half collegiate tournament
The foul call drew criticism from fans who had fastened their seatbelts in anticipation of the thrilling finish.
Among those fans was LeBron James. He publicly expressed his opposition to X (formerly Twitter).
Edwards finished the game with 17 points and three fouls. The last one, of course, was the most significant. After Iowa got the ball back with 3.9 seconds left, Caitlin Clark was fouled. She made her first free throw and then missed her second, but Sidney Affolter's offensive rebound gave Iowa the ball back. From there, Clark bounced a pass off the backs of the Buccaneers to buy more time, and the next inbound ended the game.
The controversial ending of a 40-minute back-and-forth game sent the Hawkeyes to face South Carolina in Sunday's NCAA Championship Game. There, Clark and the Hawkeyes will aim for the first national title in program history.