UW lost 70-64 to the University of Iowa with 2:14 left in Friday night’s Final Four, and its chances of returning to the national title game against South Carolina are dwindling. However, the Huskies fought back with two stops and two scores. When KK Arnold got the ball with nine seconds left, UConn was down just one shot for the win.
Instead, the Huskies never took that shot. After a UW timeout, Aliyah Edwards set up a pick on the wing and Paige Bueckers flew away for a potential game-winning jumper, but the moving screen whistle blew on Edwards with 3.9 seconds left. . The turnover gave the Hawkeyes the ball back in their own half of the court, and the Huskies were never able to get it back, losing 71-69.
“I didn’t get any explanation,” Edwards said after the loss. “I didn’t really have time to get an explanation. From my perspective, it was in very good condition.”
This was ruled an offensive foul on Aliyah Edwards.
🎥 @espn | #W Final Four pic.twitter.com/WcjbUsUvhO
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 6, 2024
UW coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies’ bench were immediately distraught, and social media went wild over their defense. WNBA and NBA stars argued that referees could not make such sweeping calls late in games, based on the truism that some level of contact must be allowed until the end.
Naaaaaaaaaaaa! ! ! I’m not keen on that call.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 6, 2024
It’s so wrong to say that on a game-deciding play, WOW
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) April 6, 2024
A season that put an unwarranted spotlight on officiating in women’s college basketball, with many fans and basketball officials complaining that the quality of officiating did not rise to the level of play on the court. And this was another sign that the referee was unable to seize the moment.
Nevertheless, regardless of the stakes of the call — that Edwards’ college career ended on an emotional screen — the reasoning behind the referee’s call is plausible. Edwards’ feet are outside her shoulders and she leans to her left as Gabby Marshall runs by. This is a decision that would not have caused such outrage in the first quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, fans would have liked to have seen the players, not the referees, decide the game. But in reality, Edwards did.
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(Photo: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photo, Getty Images)
