Caitlin Clark had an amazing last home game at Iowa. The Hawkeyes crowd who had Georg Kittle were loud and proud to see their Hawkeyes legend blaze up against West Virginia. The trio of JJ Quinerly, Kyah Watson, and Jordan Harrison all did their best to keep dancing in March Madness but the music had to stop at one point. Iowa got away with the 64 to 54 victory but a lot of avid spectators, including Damian Lillard, did not like what they saw in the officiating.
Iowa got a massive officiating advantage?
“I feel like the West Virginia women’s team getting did bad by these refs,” Damian Lillard wrote on X after the March Madness game.
Damian Lillard was also not the only person to notice the huge disparity in whistles. West Virginia committed 27 fouls while Iowa only managed to get 11 calls on them throughout the whole four quarters of the game. This prompted a lot of fans to question the officiating in one of the most crucial games of the season.
“This is absurd. Absolutely infuriating. I feel for the West Virginia team. They’ve played a better game than Iowa and they’re not going to get rewarded at all. Hope these refs don’t advance,” Dan Wolken of USA Today said as Iowa earned 26 free throws while West Virginia just had five.
“These no-calls on Iowa are insane. West Virginia has been getting no help from the refs. They probably should've won,” a user said.
Some fans even directed the blame to Caitlin Clark.
“Iowa: 30 free throws shot, 11 fouls committed West Virginia: 5 free throws shot, 27 fouls called on them The refs understood the assignment to advance Caitlin Clark at all costs,” a Barstool Sports account declared.
Others have stated their dislike for her continuous habit of pleading to the referees, “I do enjoy watching Caitlin Clark play, but does anyone complain more about fouls? She wants a foul called on every play, every pass, every rebound. So annoying.”
“I totally get it’s Caitlin Clark’s last home game and she’s the face of the league but come on with the absolutely atrocious calls. Wide open layups are getting called fouls!” an avid March Madness spectator wrote.
A class March Madness slugfest
West Virginia still had a valiant effort to stay afloat despite legends like Damian Lillard thinking they should have been treated better. JJ Quinerly led the way with her 15 points with two rebounds and assists. Kyah Watson followed suit with 13 points and seven boards. Jordan Harrison also showcased her playmaking skills by dishing out nine dimes to go with her three points and six rebounds.
All of this just was not enough for a blazing hot Clark who had the roars of the Iowa crowd to back her up. She may have just knocked down eight out of 22 of her field goal attempts but made up for it by only missing one of her 12 shots at the free throw line. Her six turnovers were also not enough to hold Iowa back. Sydney Affolter and Hannah Stuelke helped her out by combining for 25 points.
The Hawkeyes are going to the Sweet Sixteen and will have to face an air-tight Colorado defense next.
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