DALLAS — Sunday’s star-studded clash between No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 3 LSU marks the first women’s national championship game without a No. 1 seed since 2011.
Consensus national Player of the Year Caitlin Clark leads the Hawkeyes (31-6) against fellow All-American Angel Reese and the Tigers (33-2) at the American Airlines Center.
Clark became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to tally 40 points in back-to-back games after dropping 41 in Friday’s upset victory over top-seeded and undefeated South Carolina. Clark also had 41 points in Iowa’s Elite Eight win over Louisville last week, and the junior guard ranks second in the nation with 27.7 points per game on the season.
LSU counters with Reese, a 6-foot-3 forward who leads the nation in total rebounds (15.6) and ranks fifth in scoring by averaging 23.3 points. Reese had 24 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in Friday’s 79-72 win against top-seeded Virginia Tech.
“I think I view matchups that people get really excited about as a really good thing for this game,” Clark said. “I think that’s what excites people and gets them to the TV. When they turn the TV on, they understand it’s not an individual game.”
While the two likely won’t be matched up against each other one-on-one, both have respect for each other’s games.
“Caitlin Clark is a great player,” Reese said. “It’s going to be tough to stop her from getting her points, but being able to just contain her and not letting her other teammates go off. So, I think that’s just something that’s going to be important.”
Indeed, the stars on both teams have strong supporting casts. Reese will be battling inside with Iowa’s Monika Czinano, a 6-foot-3 forward who was an All-Big Ten First Team selection this season. She averages 17.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and had 18 points, three rebounds and three steals in the Final Four win against the Gamecocks.
And Clark likely will see LSU veteran guard Alexis Morris a lot on the perimeter. She averages 15.2 points and 4.0 assists per game and was crucial in the Tigers’ comeback victory against the Hokies, tallying a game-high 27 points.
Flau’jae Johnson also averages 11 points per game for LSU. And for Iowa, McKenna Warnock averages 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds.
But for LSU coach Kim Mulkey — who is coaching in her fourth national title game, but her first with LSU — her top concern is still Clark.
“I’ve never seen a player — I don’t like to use the word never — but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a player that can do what Caitlin does,” said Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor.
“That girl is phenomenal shooting the ball. But the most impressive thing to me … is she makes everybody around her better. You have great players that can get numbers, but she makes others on her team better.”
LSU went to five straight Final Fours between 2004 and 2008, but never advanced to the national title game. This is Iowa’s first time on this stage too. For the first time since 2017, the sport will have a first-time champion.
–Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media