As Louisiana State guard Flau’jae Johnson knocked down the first 3-pointer of the game, it was clear that Iowa couldn’t approach this matchup in the same way it had during its upset win over South Carolina in the semifinal.
In that game, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark roamed the paint and left several Gamecocks guards open, who could not capitalize on the open opportunities.
But L.S.U. hit three 3-pointers in game’s opening quarter. On one play, L.S.U. guard Kateri Poole was left wide open in the corner, a shot that Iowa would have welcomed just a game ago.