No. 3 UConn was trailing by a single point on Friday with 3.9 seconds remaining when a foul was called on Aaliyah Edwards as she was setting up a screen with her team on their final offensive possession.
Edwards wasn’t “given an explanation” for the foul call, she told reporters afterwards. “There was no real time to get an explanation for it. My point of view, it was pretty clean.”
The foul gave the ball back to Iowa and Caitlin Clark made her first free throw shortly afterwards, after she had been fouled by Paige Bueckers with 3.1 seconds left. Though she missed her second, it gave Iowa a 71-69 lead and, after the teams battled for the ball, the Hawkeyes retained it by having the possession arrow.
Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall said Saturday she deleted her social media accounts after a spate of hate comments online about the foul call.
“I’m not the one that made the call, so I’m not sure why they’re mad at me personally,” the Hawkeyes senior said at a news conference Saturday, according to CNN affiliate KCCI.
“Personally, I thought it was an illegal screen and it’s not like it was the first one of the game,” Marshall said. “I feel like it just kind of overlooked the fact that I played my butt off the whole game trying to guard her. I’ve tried to get over screens the whole game and I feel like that one play kind of just consumed everything.”
Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder lambasted the hate comments being directed at Marshall.
“It’s unbelievable to me that you’re going to criticize a 22-year-old kid for something that she had no control over? I thought we handled that really well. We switched out onto it. I thought we were there to contest,” Bluder said on Saturday. “I can’t believe people would be so immature as to attack a 22-year-old on doing their job and doing it really, really well.”
Social media went into overdrive after the controversial incident with NBA great James leading the criticism and much of the furore stemming from the call being made so late in the game.
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The South Carolina Gamecocks celebrate after beating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA women's basketball national championship on Sunday, April 7.
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Iowa guard Caitlin Clark speaks with the media after the game.
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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley cries during a post-game interview.
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Clark, right, and Kate Martin walk off the court after losing to South Carolina.
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Staley hugs Kamilla Cardoso after the game.
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The Gamecocks celebrate after the game.
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Clark reacts in the second half.
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South Carolina's Bree Hall shoots a three point basket over Clark.
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Clark sits on the bench at the end of the game.
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South Carolina guard Raven Johnson blocks a shot by Clark.
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South Carolina and Iowa players go after a loose ball.
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MiLaysia Fulwiley shoots over Iowa's Hannah Stuelke.
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Iowa's Gabbie Marshall and Cardoso of South Carolina fight for the ball.
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Clark runs down a loose ball between South Carolina guard Raven Johnson and center Cardoso.
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Iowa coach Lisa Bluder reacts.
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Clark stands in the middle of the court.
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Marshall steals the ball from Te-Hina Paopao of South Carolina.
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Stuelke and South Carolina's Chloe Kitts, left, and Cardoso eye a loose ball.
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Paopao dribbles the ball.
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Staley directs her team.
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Fulwiley shoots over Stuelke.
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Clark drives up the court past Raven Johnson.
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Fulwiley attempts a layup.
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Actor Jason Sudeikis, center, watches the game.
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Clark reacts after making a three-point basket.
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Clark shoots against South Carolina Gamecocks guard Hall.
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South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins works against Martin.
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Iowa guard Kylie Feuerbach, center, fights for a loose ball with South Carolina guards Tessa Johnson, left, and Fulwiley, right.
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South Carolina forward Watkins fights for a rebound with Iowa guard Sydney Affolter, left.
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Clark reacts after being fouled.
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Gamecocks fans cheer during the game.
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South Carolina's Cardoso keeps the ball away from Martin and Stuelke of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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Clark shoots a three-point basket over Hall.
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Players stand for the national anthem ahead of the game.
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Affolter is introduced ahead of the game.
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South Carolina players huddle before the game.
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Fans arrive at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse ahead of the national championship game between the Hawkeyes and the Gamecocks.
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The Iowa Hawkeyes celebrate after beating the UConn Huskies 71-69 in a Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Friday, April 5, in Cleveland.
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Iowa's Caitlin Clark celebrates after the game. Clark finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
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The Hawkeyes celebrate as the Huskies walk off the court after the game.
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Clark shoots a free throw in final moments of the game.
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UConn guard Paige Bueckers lays on the floor in the second half.
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Clark listens to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder during the second half.
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Ice Brady of the UConn Huskies shoots the ball.
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Iowa's Kate Martin gives a thumbs up after sustaining an injury in the second half.
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Martin jumps to defend a shot by Bueckers.
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Iowa Hawkeyes fans hold up signs during the game.
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Iowa players react from the bench during the second half.
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Bluder reacts in the second half.
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Bueckers fights for a loose ball with Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall during the first half. The Huskies held a 32-26 lead at halftime.
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UConn's Aaliyah Edwards looks to shoot in the first half. Edwards scored 17 points during the game.
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Nika Mühl of the UConn Huskies reacts after a foul in the first half.
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UConn's KK Arnold shoots the ball over Clark.
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Martin is fouled by Edwards during the first half.
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Martin and Arnold #2 of the UConn Huskies fight for the ball.
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Clark shoots the ball over UConn's Ashlynn Shade. UConn held Clark to six points, while shooting 3-of-11 from the field, including 0-6 from the three-point line.
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Iowa Hawkeyes huddle at the beginning of the game.
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The Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is pictured in the first half of Iowa's game against UConn.
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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and guard Bree Hall celebrate after defeating the NC State Wolfpack 78-59 in the Final Four of the women's tournament
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NC State's Zoe Brooks walks off the court after losing to the Gamecocks.
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South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins shoots the ball in the second half. Watkins scored eight points during the game.
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Staley reacts during the game.
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Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley controls the ball in the third quarter. Fulwiley scored seven points during the game.
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NC State's River Baldwin fights Chloe Kitts of South Carolina for possession of the ball in the second half.
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Hall celebrates after making a three-point basket during the second half.
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South Carolina's Sania Feagin attempts a lay up while guarded by Baldwin.
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North Carolina State head coach Wes Moore directs his team during the second half.
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South Carolina's Raven Johnson drives around Zoe Brooks of NC State during the first half. The Gamecocks let 32-31 at halftime.
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Katie Peneueta of the NC State Wolfpack looks for an opening during the first half.
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Fulwiley and Brooks battle for the ball in the second quarter.
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NC State's Saniya Rivers moves the ball down court while South Carolina's Raven Johnson guards in the first quarter.
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Kamilla Cardoso of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Saniya Rivers jump for the opening tipoff.
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Cocky the South Carolina Gamecocks mascot cheers before the game.
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NC State Wolfpack players huddle together before tipoff.
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South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao walks onto the court during player introductions ahead of the game.
Despite this, star guard Bueckers told reporters afterwards that the “tough call” didn’t cause UConn’s loss.
“Everybody can make a big deal of that one single play, but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game,” she said. “You can look at one play and say, ‘Oh, that killed us or that hurt us.’ But we should have done a better job.”
Meanwhile, her coach Geno Auriemma told reporters that “there’s probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession.”
“I just know there were three or four called on us and I don’t think there were any called on them,” he added. “So I guess we gotta get better on not setting illegal screens.”
The NCAA told CNN that no request was made for a pool reporter statement for any decisions made by officials during Friday’s game.