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Caitlin Clark made one of the smartest plays of her college career, and it came at Paige Bueckers’ expense.
Friday night’s UConn-Iowa Final Four game came down to the wire. With 3.5 seconds left to go in the game and Iowa up two points, Clark missed a free throw, but Iowa was able to grab the rebound.
Caitlin Clark misses free throw, Iowa grabs the rebound pic.twitter.com/rBo5ihK7FP
— sportsvids99 (@sportsvids991) April 6, 2024
With 1.1 seconds left in the game, Iowa was forced to inbound the ball from under their basket.
Clark was chosen to be the inbounds passer and saw Bueckers with her back turned towards her. Clark decided to bounce the ball off Bueckers back and was able to kill .8 seconds on the clock when the ball went out of bounds, essentially ending the game.
Caitlin Clark bounces ball off Paige Bueckers back and kills clock with 1.1 seconds left in the game pic.twitter.com/1LeSoTYDZu
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2024
Here’s how fans reacted to Clark’s heads-up play
Disrespectful in the same way hurdling a defender or breaking someone’s ankles is disrespectful… not actually insulting lol
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) April 6, 2024
Caitlin Clark throwing the ball off Paige Bueckers back on the inbounds pass was more impressive than any of the 28-foot bombs she’s ever hit. Her brains and vision are what make her so entertaining. Best girls player I’ve ever seen.
— Gerry Callahan (@GerryCallahan) April 6, 2024