Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart couldn’t hide their dismay at the controversial foul call late in their former program’s gut-wrenching loss to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa and UConn delivered a game for the ages Friday at the women’s Final Four in Cleveland as Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes narrowly outlasted the Huskies, 71–69, to punch a spot in the national championship game for the second straight year.
But the ending wasn’t without some controversy and as a result, some disappointed members of the UConn faithful.
With the Huskies on offense and trailing 70–69 in the waning moments of the game, forward Aaliyah Edwards was called for an illegal screen with 3.9 seconds remaining. Iowa took over possession and Clark hit one of two free throws before the Hawkeyes secured an offensive rebound on the star’s miss from the charity stripe, sealing the win and a spot in the title game.
While Iowa may have been pleased with the call and its consequences, many athletes, fans and media members weren’t thrilled to see the game end the way it did. Perhaps no group was as disappointed as a trio of UConn legends watching the game on an ESPN simulcast: Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi.
“What an unfortunate time to call an offensive foul. Just know how to ruin the game,” Taurasi, a three-time champ with the Huskies, said with a wry smile. “Oh my God, that’s terrible,” she added after seeing a replay.
Bird, a former UConn teammate of Taurasi’s, was more subdued, while Stewart simply went silent and stone-faced as she watched the various replay angles.
3 uconn huskies react to the ‘offensive foul’ pic.twitter.com/wFWCbVYTMG
— jaiden (@steph_turkey) April 6, 2024
Stewart, a four-time national champion and three-time player of the year, eventually spoke after some prodding from her fellow former Huskies.
“I just want ‘em to win,” she said of the program. “They haven’t won since I left and I just feel this pressure and I don’t want to feel it any more.”
Unfortunately for UConn, the pursuit of a historic 12th national championship will have to wait. Iowa, on the other hand, will advance to take on undefeated South Carolina in Sunday’s title game.
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