The game-altering call came as no surprise to at least one person inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Gabbie Marshall had the tough job of defending Paige Bueckers when UConn, trailing 70-69, got possession with under 10 seconds to go in the Final Four on Friday night.
As UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards screened her to give Bueckers a chance for the winning shot, the Iowa guard flailed to her right and immediately knew the screen was indeed illegal, yelling into the crowd in celebration after an offensive foul was called.
“I think we knew going in that we needed to get a stop and obviously, at least I thought the all was going to go to Paige and I’m pretty sure that was the game plan. I figured they were going to try to set a couple of screens and I was staying on her hip the whole game,” Marshall said after Iowa’s 71-69 victory earned them a return trip to the national championship game. “And if I’m on her hip, the person can’t move into you and they have to give you room to go around it if you’re sticking with them and on their hip.
Final Four loss to Iowa. Screengrab
“And so I hit it, I knew it was a moving screen. So, I’m happy it was called and it was just a huge moment.”
Those in UConn’s camp were not as happy after missing out on a shot at a national title against Dawn Staley’s undefeated South Carolina squad due to the call that sparked plenty of outrage around the sports world.
“There’s probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game. “I just know that there were three or four of them called on us and I don’t think there were any called on them.”
However, others now seem to side with Marshall, as a new video that surfaced late Friday night showed Edwards a potential moving screen as Edwards slid over to meet Marshall.
On the subsequent possession, UConn fouled Caitlin Clark, who made one free throw that clinched Iowa’s ticket to the championship, where the Hawkeyes hope to avenge last year’s loss to LSU as Clark plays her final collegiate game.
