Hot Take: The UConn v.s. Iowa Call Was VALID
By Kedron Phillips
Throughout the month of March there was lots of attention surrounding the Iowa women’s basketball team (otherwise known as Caitlyn Clark). Let’s just take a moment to recognize the attention she has brought to women’s basketball. Views have skyrocketed since she stepped out onto the scene.
Everyone knows what happened during the final moments of the championship game last year between LSU and Iowa, there is no need to hash all that out here. But I can definitely say most everyone knew that the Elite Eight rematch between LSU and Iowa would draw lots of attention. This time around Iowa came out on top knocking Angel Reese and LSU out of the tournament.
“Lots of attention” is quite the understatement seeing how they brought in a whopping 12.3 million viewers. Needless to say, victory is sweet and Caitlyn ate it up and left no crumbs.
When Iowa defeated LSU, the only thing standing between Caitlyn Clarks opportunity for one last championship game with her team was Paige Bueckers and UConn.
Throughout the game, UConn had Caitlyn Clark guarded very heavily by Nika Muhl. Round of applause for her as she held Clark to 21 points, seems like a lot until you learn she had 41 points just a few days before when she was guarded by Hailey Van Lith from LSU…it’s okay Hailey, at that point I would just shrug it off too.
The ending of the final four matchup between Iowa and UConn has seemingly sparked much controversy. In the last seconds of the game UConn was trailing 69–70 with possession of the ball. As they passed the ball to Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards set the screen but was called for an offensive foul against Iowa’s Gabbie Marshall with 3.9 seconds remaining. This call sealed the game for Iowa as it sent the ball back the other way.
Many were in shock that the refs would make a call like this at that point in the game. There is so much back and forth online whether the call was legit, or if the call was bogus and an attempt to push Caitlyn Clark to the finals.
I asked SVU basketball player Alex Weiland, a junior majoring in Family and Human Development with a focus in pre-law, his opinion on the call. Here is what he had to say about it: “I think it was definitely a close call. As much as I think Edwards was moving a bit when she set the screen, Gabbie Marshall did sell the hit quite a bit. Screens like that are set throughout the entirety of any basketball game, off the ball. That one was close but happened to be the one that was called. I do think Edwards leaned into the screen and used her forearms a bit, but the ref that called it was behind her, so that would have been difficult to see. All-in-all, I think it was the wrong call to make at such a pivotal moment in the game.”
Being an Iowa fan myself, I was over the moon when this call was made. To me it seemed blatantly obvious that she was moving which is illegal when setting a screen. However, I can understand why UConn fans would be upset that this type of call was made with so little time left as it sealed the deal for the Hawk’s.
So much controversy has surrounded this call for the past week. There is also a lot of tension surrounding Gabbie Marshall. Although there are many opinions floating around, Gabbie Marshall did not make the call. Did Aaliyah Edwards move her feet and lean into Gabbie? Yes she did. Did Gabbie Marshall sell it? Absolutely. That seems to be the game of basketball now. Selling fouls. Just ask Lebron!
