Women's NCAA Final Four: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers take center stage

All eyes will be on Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and UConn’s Paige Bueckers on Friday night with both players ready to step up and lead their teams in their Final Four clash at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

After two grueling weeks of basketball action in March Madness, it all comes down to the last four teams vying for a spot in the national championship game.

What more than the two biggest names in women’s college basketball today duke it out on the biggest stage set on the nightcap at 9:30 p.m.

Unbeaten South Carolina will open the slate of games at 7:00 p.m. against the Cinderellas of the tournament in NC State.

Clark and Bueckers go a long way back. They were teammates in Team USA’s junior teams, winning a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championships. Bueckers was the no.1 overall recruit by ESPN rankings out of high school while Clark ranked 4th.  

This will be the final time these two generational prospects will face each other as Clark – the projected no.1 overall pick in 2024 – has announced she will join this year’s draft while Bueckers – 2025’s projected no.1 overall pick – has said she will return for a fifth and final season at UConn.

Clark and Bueckers can only hope the best for their and their team’s respective campaigns but only one could come out from this pivotal matchup – so we should expect to see both teams give it their absolute best as they look to achieve their goal: have a chance to compete for a national championship.