The Women’s Final Four will take place Friday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Top overall seed South Carolina will face No. 3 seed NC State in the first semifinal game, which tips at 7 p.m. ET. No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 3 UConn will follow at 9 p.m. ET
In a season that has seen extreme media attention and increased viewership numbers, this Women’s Final Four matchup is looking to be another evening of thrilling games we have seen so far in the women’s NCAA tournament.
Below we breakdown the storylines to follow, players to know and everything important said at media day on Thursday.
Caitlin Clark vs Paige Bueckers
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said to the media on Thursday that she doesn’t want her team’s semifinal matchup vs. UConn on Friday night to be promoted as “Paige vs. Caitlin.” But with many new fans invested and national interested in women’s college basketball, the superstar talent of both these guards is undeniably great television.
“Obviously we have one of the best players in the country on our team, and we’re thrilled to have that. But I do not want this to be a game that’s promoted as Caitlin versus Paige. And I know it already has been,” she said. “But I don’t want that. I want it to be Iowa versus UConn and let these two women do what they do best.”
Clark and Bueckers are very familiar with each other. Two very talented hoopers when they were young, both from the Midwest and are used to playing with the spotlight on them.
“We had a lot of battles in AAU together and with team USA. She is just a competitor, she wants to win, she has the tangibles of the game. She knows how to play, a great IQ,” Bueckers said. “The greatest thing about her is that she competes. She wants to win at all costs. So I know going in that it will be a great matchup.”
Iowa’s fifth year senior Gabbie Marshall, a Cincinnati Ohio native, spoke about the challenge she will face on Friday having to play against Bueckers. Marshall said one of her main focuses for the upcoming game will be guarding Bueckers, trying to limit her shots and touches and make things more difficult for her.
“She’s just smooth,” Marshall said of Bueckers. “If the defense takes one thing away they always have a counter for it. She is a really, really good player. I think there are some similarities with Caitlin, but I am ready for that challenge.”
Marshall said that many friends and family will be in attendance with her playing in her home state. Marshall added that she enjoys defense even more now in college compared to her playing days in high school. She credits her strong defensive play for helping her get minutes on the court.
“Truthfully, I think defense is all just heart, energy and effort. Those are things you can control. You don’t have to be a super talented person to play defense. It’s really all effort and that’s something my team can rely on me to give and bring every single night. I pride myself on my defense,” Marshall said.