Women’s March Madness Final Features Clark and Iowa vs. Reese and LSU

Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes will take on Angel Reese and the LSU Lady Tigers in Sunday’s championship game of the Women’s NCAA basketball tournament. It will be the first title game appearance for both teams.

Clark became the first woman to score back-to-back 40-point games, going for 41 points, six rebounds, and eight assists to lead the Hawkeyes to a 77-73 upset of top ranked and previously unbeaten South Carolina.

Caitlin Clark in the Final Four win vs #1 South Carolina:

41 points (most in Final Four history)
6 rebounds
8 assists

We are all witnesses. pic.twitter.com/bv6lpeql2q

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) April 1, 2023

The defending champion Gamecocks had won 42 straight before running into Clark and the Hawkeyes, but didn’t have an answer for Clark, the National Player of the Year.

Improbable run for LSU continues

Alexis Morris scored 27 points, while Angel Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Lady Tigers (33-2) ousted #1 seed Virginia Tech 79-72. In just the second year of the Kim Mulkey era at LSU, they’re one win away from a national title.

Iowa’s High Octane Offense

All eyes are rightfully on Clark, who is averaging just over 27 points and eight rebounds per game. She was responsible for every 4^th quarter point in against South Carolina, both via scoring and passing. Clark is the unquestioned leader of a Hawkeyes offense that leads the nation in scoring with 87.6 points per game. However she’s not the only playmaker on the team.

Monika Czinano, who is second on the team with 17.2 ppg and 8.6 rpg, finished with 18 points on 6/8 shooting and made all six of her free throw attempts. McKenna Warnock is third on the team in scoring and makes 39% of her three-point attempts.

LSU’s prolific offense led by Reese

The Tigers have their own All-American in Reese, also known as the “Bayou Barbie”. She recorded at least six games of 30+ points and had double-digit rebounds in all but two games. Here she is, dominating the inside, as she’s known to do.

Angel Reese hits the "too small" after this bucket 😮 pic.twitter.com/0sC3jXEGP3

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2023

Reese is also a decorated defender having earned a spot on the All SEC defensive team. The team features two other double-digit scorers in Morris  and Flau’jae Johnson for the Tigers who rank fifth in the nation in scoring (81.8 ppg.).

Does LSU have the coaching advantage?

If LSU has a noticeable edge in any department, it would be on the sidelines. Mulkey is a top-3 coach in the game, with five Final Four appearances and a trio of national championships (2005, 2012 and 2019) during her days at Baylor. She took LSU to the national title game for the first time in program history last season. Meanwhile Lisa Bluder of Iowa will be making her first championship game appearance in her 21^st season as a head coach.

Road to the title game

LSU advanced with wins over Hawaii, Michigan, Utah, Miami, and Virginia Tech. Iowa’s tournament run featured victories over Southeastern, Georgia, Colorado, Louisville, and South Carolina.

BetOnline has Iowa listed as a -3 point favorite (-155 moneyline) with the total at 160.