Breaking Down the Controversial Foul, Caitlin Clark Relives Battle with Paige Bueckers’ UConn in New Docuseries

The UConn vs Iowa Final Four game is not just a segment in the ESPN’s “Full Court Press” docuseries. It is a game that the college basketball world will remember for years. The game in which the up-and-coming elite team of the Hawkeyes defeated the most successful program in NCAA’s history. And the game also proved to the world that Caitlin Clark can be stopped, even if only to some extent. But what most people remember is the offensive foul call in the crucial seconds of the game. The whistle turned the tides in the favor of the Hawkeyes and they emerged victorious.

Jogging our memories back to April 5, 2024, Clark’s Iowa won a hard-fought battle against Paige Bueckers’ UConn by just two points. However, the win was mostly eclipsed by the controversies that followed. Many fans believed that the foul call on Aaliyah Edwards was wrong, opposing Gabbie Marshall who asked for it.

Commenting on the same, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer said, “It was a moving screen, for everybody that thinks it wasn’t a moving screen. Her (Aaliyah Edwards) feet were super wide, she was moving. And maybe Gabbie sold it a little bit but she got nailed. It’s a moving screen.”

With the Hawkeyes up by two points, Paige Bueckers brought the ball up, hoping for a game-winning shot. However, Bueckers’ attempt to lose her matchup with a screen failed, as Aaliyah Edwards was called for a moving screen, which stunned almost everyone around the world. While people agreed that it was a foul in retrospect, such kinds of calls are often overlooked in crunch situations. Nevertheless, Iowa ended up winning the contest by two points and booked their second consecutive Championship Game appearance.

Holly Rowe of ESPN, too, agreed that Edwards was way out of her shoulders. Hence, it was a foul. But she also mentioned that it was a whistle that was heard around the world, encapsulating the very passion and energy that revolved in the air that night in the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland.

Rewinding back to the most thrilling Final Four game with Caitlin Clark

The Iowa and UConn matchup marked an attendance of record-breaking 18,284 fans in Cleveland. It also garnered a total view count of 14.2 million. It was not just a women’s college basketball Final Four but a key that Auriemma found to stop Caitlin Clark. Nika Muhl, the playmaker of the Huskies, kept locking Clark down, becoming a major hurdle for the 2x NPOY to score. Clark ended the first half with just 6 points. However, the defense only lasted for the first 20 minutes as the Croatian guard fell due to an injury.

Talking about the crucial halftime talk, Clark told the press in her post-game interview, “But I think the best thing about our group is we went into the locker room at halftime and it wasn’t, like, ‘Oh, come on, you’ve got to make shots.’ It was, ‘No, stop turning the ball over and you’re going to be perfectly fine.'”

Consequently, Caitlin Clark showed off her offensive prowess by bringing the Hawkeyes back in the game with 7 points in the first 2.5 minutes of the fourth quarter. Of the 21 points that Clark scored, 3 were her game-changing three-pointers, with one being her signature step-back three. She also added 9 rebounds and 7 assists for the Hawkeyes that night.

Unquestionably, Caitlin Clark has the power to turn everything into gold. Whether it is the records or the moments. Through her competitiveness and passion, she brought a big win for Iowa, leading them to their consecutive NCAA title game.