Paige Bueckers and the UConn women's basketball team may have held Caitlin Clark to an uncharacteristically poor first half, but the Iowa women's basketball squad had no quit in them. With around five seconds to go, UConn had possession with a chance to regain the lead while down one, 70-69. They ran a curl for Bueckers, coming off a screen from Aaliyah Edwards. However, Edwards was whistled for a moving screen, giving Iowa back the ball and essentially dooming UConn to a Final Four exit.

That's exactly what happened; Clark may have missed a free throw which could have put Iowa up by three with only three seconds left, but the Hawkeyes contested the rebound, forcing a jump-ball and securing possession, sealing UConn's defeat. For such a hotly-contested matchup, it was quite an infuriating way for the game to be decided, with the referees taking center stage instead of letting the women play.

As a result of the questionable illegal screen call on Aaliyah Edwards, a few NBA stars, including the biggest one of them all in LeBron James, expressed their frustration, perplexed that the officials would call a moving screen on what simply looked like a brick wall screen.

“NAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I ain’t rolling with that call,” James wrote on his official Twitter account.

Joining LeBron James in decrying the questionable at best foul call were Jamal Crawford, Kendrick Perkins, and Donte Greene.

“Was an instant classic. Terrible way for the game to end though. Iowa /UConn,” Crawford wrote. Perkins agreed, “That’s a BS call.” “You CAN NOT CALL THAT!!!!!” added Greene.

UConn fans are angry, and they might be justified in their anger

In one of the biggest games of the season, athletes will live with themselves if they know that they gave it their all and that they had a hand in deciding the outcome of the game. But the UConn Huskies and their fanbase will feel especially hard done by the fact that they didn't even get a crack at a game-winner thanks to the illegal screen call on Aaliyah Edwards.

Edwards didn't move too much from her set position; sure, her elbow hit Gabbie Marshall on the torso, but setting a screen involves physical contact, and with the way women are taught to set screens, it's not like the UConn center could have done anything to avoid that kind of contact.

Alas, the game is over, Iowa is through to the national championship game, and all UConn fans can do is vent their anger on social media.

“Iowa should not be awarded a ring for this absolute atrocity of officiating against their opponents. Girl wasn’t even moving and whistle gets blown for illegal screen😭😭,” one UConn fan wrote.

“The official that called a moving screen in the UConn/Iowa game should be arrested,” another one said.

“#UConn ladies were just robbed on a moving screen call vs. #Iowa. Unbelievable these referees thank the game is all about them,” a third commenter added.

“WOW!!!!!!!!! Second game in a row refs calling inexcusable fouls that favor Iowa. Angel Reese’s 5th was bogus and so was that moving screen. The Caitlin Clark industrial complex is real,” a critic furthered.

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Caitlin Clark is through to the national championship, but this debate will continue

Credit must still go to Iowa for putting up a much-better second-half effort against UConn; Caitlin Clark went 4-7 in the second half, a marked improvement over her 3-11 first-half effort. But now, the main discussion surrounding this game will be the offensive foul that robbed the Huskies of a chance to take what would have been a go-ahead shot.

Some fans believe, however, that the referees made the right call, showing the other side of the coin amidst a sea of angry reactions.

“Unpopular take: That was a moving screen, clear as day. Sucks it was called, but that was a moving screen. #UConn #Iowa #WFinalFour,” one fan opined.