(Editor's note: Women's college basketball referees are under intense scrutiny. Here's what's frustrating coaches and managers, and what they say could improve the quality of referees calling games.)
Well, it wouldn't have been the women's NCAA Tournament without controversy.
Iowa defeated UW on Friday night in Game 2 of the national semifinals, but the postgame conversation wasn't about Caitlin Clark or Sunday's championship game against undefeated South Carolina.
It was a foul call. And this time, it wasn't for the lack of a whistle.
Aaliyah Edwards was called for an offensive foul while trying to set a screen on Gabby Marshall with less than four seconds left.
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UW coach Geno Auriemma was extremely frustrated.
ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Andraya Carter also disagreed with the call.
“I hated the phone. Gabby Marshall should be given credit for trying to fight through the screen. That got the referee's attention,” Carter said on SportsCenter after the game. “But for me, that last play right now isn't about Iowa's defense. It's about the referee's decision. There was a slight lean and maybe Aliyah Edwards' elbow was slightly out. But to be honest, the calls were even on both sides. There was a missed call to Iowa. I couldn't get a call to UConn. Making a decision like that in the final minutes of the game was a no-brainer for me. was to deny players the opportunity to play. …That call was the worst, to be honest.”
more:Where is the accountability and transparency in refereeing for women?What coaches want to know
It was clear that opinions were divided in the postgame press conference and in the locker room.
Ms Edwards said she thought the play was “clean”.
Paige Bueckers took a broader approach to what happened in the final four seconds.
“Players play. Players decide the game.
“Anyone can make a big deal out of one play, but in a basketball game, one play doesn't win or lose,” Bakkers said. “…You can look at one play and say that killed us, that hurt us. We should have done a better job and we did a better job of not letting the game go that way. I should have done that.”
Iowa's Hannah Stelke praised Marshall, one of the nation's top defenders. She said, “Gabby is great in those situations. She's blocking or whatever, she always comes up with the big play.”
Marshall told USA TODAY Sports in the locker room that he felt a feeling in his elbow. “There's a video of it.” She added that she remembers three or four of her calls Friday night.
The refereeing of this tournament has attracted attention before.
Hannah Hidalgo missed more than four minutes of Notre Dame's Sweet 16 game to have her nose ring removed. This is because her officials told her before her match that she could cover it instead of removing it. Hidalgo said he played with earrings all season. She called it “BS” and said it interfered with her game.
Also, during the second round in Raleigh, North Carolina, it was revealed that one of the schools participating in the game had a degree, but did not disclose it before tipoff, and at halftime The referee was replaced.
Lindsey Schnell and Nancy Armor reported from Cleveland.
