DALLAS — No team had been able to overcome South Carolina's dominance for 42 consecutive games. Until Friday night. Led by Caitlin Clark's second consecutive 41-point game — one of the greatest individual performances in Final Four history — Iowa pulled one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history, ending the Gamecocks' undefeated season 77-73.
The Hawkeyes, who advance to their first NCAA championship game in school history, will be joined by another first-timer in Sunday's title game.
LSU trailed by nine points entering Friday's fourth quarter but rallied to beat Virginia Tech 79-72 in the other semifinal. Clark's 41 points and eight assists — she scored or assisted on 58 of Iowa's 77 points — paced the Hawkeyes, who only trailed for a little over 2 minutes Friday.
Iowa controlled the game from the outset and never wilted; South Carolina's largest lead was one point. The Gamecocks' quest to win back-to-back titles and become the 10th team to run the table ended in the semifinals, along with a 42-game win streak that dated to March 6, 2022.