Paige Bueckers Downplays Late UConn Foul in Iowa Loss: 1 Play Doesn’t Lose a Game

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVApril 6, 2024

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

UConn star Paige Bueckers didn’t dwell on the controversial offensive foul call that secured Iowa a 71-69 victory in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Friday.

Down by a point in the final seconds, the Huskies were trying to line up the go-ahead bucket when forward Aaliyah Edwards was whistled for an illegal screen. Caitlin Clark made one of her two free throws and the Hawkeyes held on.

After the game, Bueckers looked at the bigger picture and didn’t cite the foul as the one thing that cost UConn a potential victory:

UConn on SNY @SNYUConn”Everybody can make a big deal of that one single play, but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game. I feel like there were a lot of mistakes that I made that could’ve prevented that play from even being that big.”

– Paige Bueckers pic.twitter.com/9w8iiSnXlc

Head coach Geno Auriemma was likewise more measured with his immediate reaction but couldn’t fully hide his frustration:

UConn on SNY @SNYUConn”There’s probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession. I just know that there were three or four of them called on us and I don’t think there were any called on them.”

– Geno Auriemma pic.twitter.com/pSsHdZNsDP

The game circumstances shouldn’t determine what is and isn’t a foul, but fans and players have broadly come to expect officials to be more lenient in the waning seconds. You want the players to determine the outcome, not the refs.

With that in mind, many were disappointed with how a classic March Madness encounter ended.

espnW @espnW”To be honest … that call sucked SVP.”@Andraya_Carter spoke with @notthefakeSVP on the offensive foul called on Aaliyah Edwards in the final seconds. pic.twitter.com/VNjPaYYIBq

Swin Cash @SwinCashThe ref that called that foul should not be able to work another final four for a min! That was horrible and didn’t let the players determine the outcome! I’m sick for those players… a hot mess!

LeBron James @KingJamesNAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I ain’t rolling with that call.

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbachMan. I hate that a game like this is going to be remembered for THAT call at the end.

By the letter of the law, the call was pretty cut and dried, though. It’s tough to argue Edwards wasn’t guilty of an illegal screen. She wasn’t set before making the contact and extended her arm as Iowa’s Gabbie Marshall was running by.

Mark Adams @EnthusiAdamsIllegal screen by any current rule. Targets defender, feet way wider than allowed, moves into defender and makes contact, and extends left elbow. If a referee doesn’t make this call, they shouldn’t referee the next game. A foul is a foul in the first minute and last minute. pic.twitter.com/2pmYzTKN4p

While nobody can blame UConn players and coaches for feeling a little aggrieved with what transpired, Bueckers’ perspective was the correct one. There are so many factors that go into deciding the result and it never comes down to just one officiating call.

The Huskies were up by as many as 12 points on Iowa and couldn’t protect their lead. They gave up 11 offensive rebounds to the Hawkeyes and shot 8-of-25 from beyond the arc. And although their 14 turnovers weren’t abnormally high, a squad as short-handed as UConn couldn’t afford to be so sloppy against a tough opponent.

Auriemma and his staff can probably find a number of mistakes that may not have been costly in isolation but added up in a meaningful way in such a close contest.