Controversial late foul call in Iowa’s victory over UConn prompts social media outcry

The controversial late foul call that proved pivotal in Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn in the women’s Final Four sparked some outrage on social media with stars like LeBron James and Angel Reese weighing in.

The controversial late foul call that proved pivotal in Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn in the women’s Final Four sparked some outrage on social media with stars like LeBron James and Angel Reese weighing in. However, UConn players voiced their frustration but refused to use it to explain their defeat. No. 3 UConn was trailing by a single point on Friday with 3.9 seconds remaining when a foul was called on Aaliyah Edwards as she was setting up a screen with her team on their final offensive possession. Edwards wasn’t “given an explanation” for the foul call, she told reporters afterwards. “There was no real time to get an explanation for it. My point of view, it was pretty clean.” The foul gave the ball back to Iowa and Caitlin Clark made her first free throw shortly afterwards, after she had been fouled by Paige Bueckers with 3.1 seconds left. Though she missed her second, it gave Iowa a 71-69 lead and, after the teams battled for the ball, the Hawkeyes retained it by having the possession arrow. Social media went into overdrive after the controversial incident with NBA great James leading the criticism and much of the furore stemming from the call being made so late in the game.