Caitlin Clark insists revenge was NOT on Iowa’s mind against LSU despite last year’s NCAA Championship defeat… as 41-point hero reveals team didn’t ‘get caught up’ in pregame narrative before 94-87 win

Caitlin Clark has insisted revenge was not a motivator ahead of Iowa’s win over LSU on Monday, in a rematch of last year’s national championship.

After the Tigers defeated Clark and Co. 102-85 to capture last year’s title, the Iowa star produced a 41-point masterclass to advance her team to this year’s Final Four – and claimed the last matchup between the squads was not on her team’s mind.

‘To be honest, no. I feel like we prepared for this game. We focus on Iowa, we do what Iowa does, and we’ll come out on top. And that was kind of Coach Bluder’s message,’ Clark said after the win.

‘It’s not about last year. You worry too much about the past, you’re going to get caught up in that. It’s about being present, being where your feet are.

‘Don’t worry about being in the Final Four, be in this moment, be in the Elite 8, enjoy that and soak that in. That’s what’s going to allow you to win 40 minutes, and that’s exactly what we did.

Last year’s national championship, the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever to that point, featured LSU star Angel Reese taunting Clark during the final moments of the game. Reese was seen pointing at her ring finger and doing John Cena ‘s famous ‘You Can’t See Me!’ hand gesture as the clock wound down.

Nonetheless, Reese insisted before this game that there was no bad blood between her and Clark.

‘I don’t think people realize it’s not personal,’ she said. ‘Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it’s like, ‘Hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out.”

‘I think people just take it like we hate each other,’ Reese added. ‘Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It’s just a super-competitive game.’

‘Once I get between those lines, there’s no friends,’ Reese continued. ‘I’m going to talk trash to you. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game, but after the game, we can kick it. I don’t think people really realize that.’  

Clark and Iowa will now face UConn in the national semifinals, after Paige Bueckers led the Huskies to a win over USC on Monday.

‘This one probably feels a little bit better, my senior year with this group,’ Clark told ESPN after the game.

‘A lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the year with the people we lost and all we did was work really hard. To get back here is really hard. This region was loaded with so much talent. And the job’s not finished.’