Monday was a huge night for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament when the biggest stars were in the spotlight, and Caitlin Clark will continue to dominate headlines.
Clark and Iowa avenged their loss in last year’s tournament final when they beat the LSU Tigers at MVP Arena in the Elite Eight. All eyes were on the reigning Naismith College Player of the Year as she put on a highlight 41-point performance against Angel Reese and company.
With UConn beating the USC Trojans at Moda Center, the Hawkeyes will take on the Huskies in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Paige Bueckers has rivaled Clark as one of the best players in the tournament, but head coach Geno Auriemma seemed to begin the mind games ahead of Friday’s matchup.
“I hope Caitlin Clark had a personal agenda against LSU, and I hope there’s nothing personal between me and her,” Auriemma told reporters, per SNY. “I don’t need to be seeing her drop 50 on us next weekend. I love her. I think she’s the best player. Forget that I ever said Paige was the player in the country. I think she’s the best player of all time. I don’t know who said that I said that Paige is the best player in the country.”
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Auriemma is one of the more eccentric personalities in women’s college basketball, and he smiled after his attempt to seemingly put a reverse jinx on Clark for his team’s Final Four matchup against Iowa.
Clark’s favorite player of all time is Maya Moore, and she hoped to attend the same university as her idol. But UConn never attempted to recruit her, per ESPN’s Wright Thompson.
Fans will have to wait until Friday to see if Clark still holds any resentment over that, but she’ll at least know Auriemma thinks she’s the best player in the country.
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Featured image via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
