Saturday's women's NCAA Tournament takeaways: Caitlin Clark shows all-around game in dominant win
The women's NCAA Tournament field was whittled down to eight after a blockbuster day of action.
Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers were among the stars to take the court on Saturday and advance. Here our takeaways from Day 2 of the Sweet 16.
Epic rematch awaits in Elite Eight
America gets the matchup it craved since last season's national championship game. LSU (31-5, 13-3 in SEC) and Iowa (32-4, 15-3 in Big Ten) meet on Monday night with the winner heading to its second consecutive Final Four. Tigers forward Angel Reese's hand wave directed at Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark in the waning moments of LSU's 102-85 win last year was heard around the world. Ever since that moment, the basketball world has wished for a rematch.
But underneath all of the hype is a fascinating matchup that is much more than a competition between the teams' biggest stars.
The Tigers are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking first in offensive rebound rate (43.4%) and third in total rebound rate (57.9%). LSU also uses its size with Reese and Aneesah Morrow to its advantage, scoring 23.7% of their points on free throws, the 11th-highest rate in the country, per Her Hoop Stats.
Iowa is good at not fouling, averaging 14.6 per game, which ranks 52nd out of 360 D-I programs. The Hawkeyes are also 20th in total rebound rate, so there's no guarantee the Tigers will dominate on the boards. Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin give Iowa a pair of capable three-point threats to pair with Clark and could help keep Monday's game closer than the last time these two teams squared off.
Caitlin Clark's passing is as good as her shooting
For as much as Clark is praised for her shot-making ability, her passing gets sorely overlooked. At least it did.
In an 89-68 win over Colorado on Saturday, Clark had 15 assists, her most in an NCAA Tournament game.
Here are two of her best passes from Saturday's win – the first off a turnover to guard Sydney Affolter and the second in the half-court offense to forward Hannah Stuelke.
Flau'jae Johnson is LSU's (not so) secret weapon
It isn't easy to stand out on a team with the 2023 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player (Reece) and the two biggest transfer portal additions of the offseason (Morrow, Hailey Van Lith). But Johnson proved that LSU has a "Big Four" after she led the team in a comeback 78-69 win over UCLA.
Johnson scored a game-high 24 points and added 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal to keep the Tigers' hopes alive of becoming the first repeat national champion since UConn (2013-16).
We're running out of superlatives for JuJu Watkins
Freshmen aren't supposed to accomplish what Watkins is at USC. In Saturday's 74-70 win over Baylor, Watkins led all scorers with 30 points and added six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and a steal. The Trojans erased a four-point deficit entering the fourth quarter as they reached their first Elite Eight in 30 years.
When she takes the court next against UConn, Watkins will only eight points to break the NCAA record for most points by a freshman. But the way she's playing, Watkins is a freshman in name only.
Paige Bueckers won't stay down for long
Duke had its chance to upset UConn in the first half when it held the Huskies to just 23 points. Instead, the Blue Devils scored a paltry 13 points in the first two quarters and Bueckers took over the in the second half.
She hit two threes within UConn's first three offensive possessions coming out of halftime and scored 15 of her 24 points over the final 20 minutes. The Huskies led by as many as 20 in the third and hung on for a 53-45 win after the Blue Devils pulled within five late in the fourth. UConn isn't particularly deep and it certainly looked like its short bench took its toll down the stretch. As long as Bueckers is on the court, though, the Huskies have a shot to go the distance.
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