Well, it wouldn’t be the women’s NCAA Tournament if there wasn’t some controversy.
Iowa beat UConn in the second national semifinal Friday night, but the buzz after the game wasn’t on Caitlin Clark or the final matchup Sunday with undefeated South Carolina.
It was on a foul call. And this time, it wasn’t about the lack of a whistle.
Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while trying to set a screen on Gabbie Marshall in the final seconds of the game.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma showed his extreme frustration.
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Andraya Carter didn’t agree with the call, either.
“I hated the call. You’ve got to give Gabbie Marshall credit for trying to fight over the screen. That’s what drew the refs’ attention in,” Carter said on the post-game show. “But to me, now that final play it’s not about Iowa defense. It’s about the call the referee made. There was a slight lean, maybe Aaliyah Edwards’ elbow was slightly out. But to be honest the calls were even for both sides. There were missed calls for Iowa. There were missed contact for UConn. To make that call at the very end of the game – to me it took away the opportunity for players to make plays. … To be honest, that call sucked.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Final Four: Controversial foul call mars end of Iowa-UConn
