In Friday night's Final Four, UConn trailed Iowa 70-64 with 2:14 to play, a dwindling chance to return to the national title game against South Carolina. But the Huskies rallied with two stops and two scores. KK When Arnold stole the ball with nine seconds to play, UConn had just one shot for the win.
Instead, the Huskies never took that shot. After a UConn timeout, Aaliyah Edwards made a layup over Paige Bueckers to get the game-winning jumper, but Edwards was whistled for a moving screen with 3.9 seconds left. The turnover gave the Hokies the ball back on their side of the court, and the Huskies never regained it, losing 71-69.
“I wasn't given an explanation,” Edwards said after the loss. “There's no real time for explanation. From my point of view, it was pretty neat.
It was called an offensive foul on Aaliyah Edwards.
🎥 @espn | #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/WcjbUsUvhO
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 6, 2024
UConn coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies bench were immediately upset, and social media erupted in their defense. The stars of the WNBA and NBA insisted that a certain level of contact should be allowed to extend, based on the fact that a referee cannot make that level of call so late in the game.
NAAAAAHHHHH!!! I didn't roll with that call.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 6, 2024
Calling it in a game that decides the game is so wrong haha
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) April 6, 2024
In a season in which women's college basketball referees have drawn untold attention, many fans and basketball players have complained that the quality of officiating has not risen to the level of play on the court. Another sign is that the umpires could not meet the moment.
Still, regardless of the stakes of the call — Edwards' college career ended on a moving screen — the reasoning behind the referee's decision was plausible. Edwards' legs are outside her shoulders, and she leans to her left as Gabby Marshall runs. It's a call that didn't cause much ire in the first quarter.
However, in the fourth quarter, fans would prefer that the players decide the game rather than the referees. But really, Edwards did.
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(Photo: NCAA Photos via C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
