HOUSTON (AP) — Lamont Butler hit the biggest shot in San Diego State history, putting the Aztecs in the national championship game for the first time. UConn dominated yet another NCAA Tournament opponent, completing its return to national relevance. The Aztecs and Huskies will play for a national title Monday night with history on the line. For San Diego State , it will be the culmination of the program building Steve Fisher started and his longtime former assistant Brian Dutcher pushed forward. UConn will be vying for its fifth national title since 1999, but first since Dan Hurley was hired to reroute the program’s fall from grace.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina All-American Aliyah Boston has declared for the WNBA draft. Boston announced her choice a day after the Gamecocks fell to Iowa 77-73 in the national semifinals. Boston said choosing South Carolina was the best decision of her life and thanked her family, teammates, coaches and the team’s fans. She called going to the WNBA “the next best decision of my life” in going pro. Boston is projected to the No. 1 overall selection for the April 10 draft.
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DALLAS (AP) — Caitlin Clark has captured the attention of basketball fans with her historic performance in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa’s sensational guard will try to finish off the unprecedented run with a championship when the Hawkeyes face LSU on Sunday in the title game. The dazzling guard, who grew up in Iowa, became the first women’s player to post back-to-back 40-point performances in the NCAA Tournament after her 41-point game lifted the Hawkeyes over previously unbeaten South Carolina in the semifinals.
DALLAS (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is defending her players over what the coach says is unfair characterizations of her team’s style. Staley’s comments appear to take aim at Iowa coach Lisa Bluder for suggesting rebounding against the Gamecocks was like “going to a bar fight.” Bluder says there was no ill intent in a quote about South Carolina’s rebounding prowess. Bluder made the comments three days before her Hawkeyes knocked off the undefeated defending national champions 77-73 in the semifinals at the Final Four on Friday night. Staley says she decided to speak out after being told of derogatory comments made by unspecified national reporters at an event a night before the semifinals.
DALLAS (AP) — Iowa coach Lisa Bluder is celebrating the state’s 6-on-6 heritage with the Hawkeyes a win away from their first national title. Bluder is pleasantly surprised to know on Iowa basketball legend was among those to see an epic semifinal victory over undefeated defending national champion South Carolina. Molly Bolin was a star of high-scoring, six-on-six basketball from the 1970s in Iowa. So was Iowa assistant coach Jan Jensen. High-scoring sensation Caitlin Clark honors the legend of Jensen while talking trash with her in practice.
DALLAS (AP) — Alexis Morris will finish her college career playing in a national championship game for Kim Mulkey. the coach who five years ago kicked the standout guard off another team. Morris has had quite a journey of growth and maturation from her freshman season at Baylor and through two other programs before a reunion with Mulkey at LSU. Morris had 27 points in the national semifinal game Friday night over top-seeded Virginia Tech. The Tigers play Iowa in their first national championship game Sunday. Morris was dismissed from Baylor’s team in the fall for 2018, just before the season that ended with Mulkey’s third national title.
DALLAS (AP) — South Carolina won’t repeat as the NCAA women’s national champion. The Gamecocks’ shot at perfection and a repeat ended with a 77-73 loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four. That ended a 42-game winning streak. The Gamecocks had won their first 36 games this season to get to their third consecutive Final Four. It might have been the final game for South Carolina All-American Aliyah Boston, who had eight points and 10 rebounds while plagued by foul trouble.
DALLAS (AP) — Caitlin Clark had another sensational game with 41 points to help Iowa spoil South Carolina’s perfect season with a 77-73 victory in the Final Four. The spectacular junior guard set a record for the highest-scoring semifinal game and became the first women’s player to post back-to-back 40-point games in the NCAA Tournament. She now has the Hawkeyes in a spot they’ve never been in before — one victory away from a national championship. They’ll have to beat another SEC team to do that as Iowa will face LSU in the title game on Sunday afternoon after the Tigers beat Virginia Tech in the other national semifinal. The loss ended a tremendous season for the defending champion Gamecocks. They finished 36-1.
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