If you didn’t watch Friday night’s NCAA Women’s March Madness Final Four matchup between UConn and Iowa, you really missed out. Many people will weigh in on the game, the individual play, the illegal screen at that was called at the end, and the outcome. But those that are students of the game probably couldn’t write down all the lessons it offered fast enough over this forty-minute clash of titans! And while the game was a mere forty minutes of running time, it was played out over years leading up to it. Storied UConn coach Geno Auriemma, alluded to just that in his post-game conference following UConn’s Final 8 win over upcoming superstar Juju Watkins and USC on Monday night.
Destabilizing Emotional Balance
Following UConn’s win over USC, the UConn coach wasted no time in attempting to establish the field of play. In the press conference that followed their win, he consciously said, “I know there’s nothing personal between me and her, so I don’t need to be seeing her drop 50 [points] on us next weekend, so I love her”. While it may sound like an genuine, heartfelt comment intended to praise Clark, Coach Geno Auriemma, the second winningest coach in women’s or men’s NCAA basketball history, and the coach, who has the most NCAA championships (with 11, one more than even John Wooden), knew exactly what he was doing. The masterful coach sought to control Clark’s emotional state and subdue her going into the game. Knowing that most players of Clark’s caliber thrive on competition (see Jordan’s famous, “and I took that personal”), he was attempting to soften her edge by heaping praise on her, while bringing into her awareness that they have had a positive emotional relationship over history. While seemingly setting a friendly stage of play, he was actually trying to destabilize her competitive emotional state. And for a time, it was effective.
Meaningfully Assessing Time
While all great coaches play the long game and use the same strategy in establishing friendly relationships with players they may face one day, you can only keep the great ones sedated for so long. Between Auriemma framing the competition throughout his relationship over years with Clark (and pointedly earlier in the week), his gameday strategy of giving Clark her due and face-guarding her full court, was effective at first. Caitlin Clark was uncharacteristically only able to muster six points, while hitting no three pointers in the first half. She, and Iowa’s top ranked offense were held to twenty-six points in the half! But halftime provided the breath that both she and the team needed as they were able to reset, refocus and remember who they are! In the second half UConn didn’t change their strategy but Clark and Iowa were no longer sedated. As the game wore on, their character, as is always the case, shone through – illustrated best when Clark was able to complete a four-point play after being knocked down on a three-pointer. While strategies of all sorts can be effective for a period of time, eventually, with enough time, the character of players and teams will emerge. And in the Final Four, what separates them is very little.
Absolute Killers
In championship caliber play, with two evenly matched teams, as is most often the case, the game is often decided on two to three plays that either make or break you. In the Iowa and UConn game, there were two absolute killers. The first was when Clark knocked down a three in front of her own bench, with 3:50 left in the third quarter, while being fouled. She confidently walked to the line and made the free throw for a, nearly as rare as Clark herself, four-point play. Down six at half, and down five when the play happened, it closed the gap to a single point. Still down one, Iowa now gained momentum from a UConn defense that had stymied them the entire game. I’m sure Auriemma would’ve reminded Ashlynn Shade, the UConn freshmen guard, of the age-old rule, that you never foul a three-point shooter. The second was the controversial illegal screen that Canadian from Kingston, Ontario, Aaliyah Edwards set to try and free up UConn’s superstar, Paige Bueckers for a lead taking scoring opportunity with four seconds left. Instead, with the foul called, Caitlin Clark went to the free throw line and added to their one-point lead. All else even between these two juggernauts, these two moments were the difference.
Tidal Forces
While there were many, many lessons the collision between these two constellations in the NCAA women’s basketball universe provided, the last major one seemed obvious but still worth pointing out. Despite the gravitational pull Cailtin Clarke and Paige Bueckers evoked to draw such attention to this game, and women’s basketball in general, it was decided by many more than just them. Despite arguably being the most important pieces for each team respectively, without Kate Martin, and especially Hannah Stuelke, stepping up for Iowa on offense, or Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards respective impacts for UConn, neither team would’ve been able to stand firm against the tides of the other. To win at the highest level, you need your stars, but those stars are held in place by scores of players and personnel, all doing their part.