NCAA review finds officiating in Iowa vs. LSU women's basketball title game did not meet expectations

The national championship game in women’s basketball last spring was unforgettable for a lot of good reasons. LSU beating Iowa for its first title. A record television audience of nearly 10 million viewers. The spicy intensity between star players Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

The game will also be remembered for its controversial officiating and The Associated Press has learned that an NCAA review concluded the refereeing did not meet expectations. The organization had planned a review of NCAA Tournament officiating after the 2024 championship concludes next April, but it was sped up by a year after criticism of the LSU-Iowa showdown.

NCAA vice president for women’s basketball Lynn Holzman said the officials were graded on the accuracy of their calls and the overall accuracy number fell short.

“In the championship game itself, for example, we typically have a performance that I think is 91% historically,” she said. “In that game, the percentage of correct calls was below that, around 88%. That’s factually the case.”

The NCAA did not provide the review or details to the AP, but an independent review of LSU-Iowa done by an official who did not participate in the game found the percentage of correct calls was much lower than 88%. (Out-of-bounds violations were not included as part of the independent analysis; it was unclear if they are included in the NCAA figure.)

...https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-lsu-womens-basketball-game-ncaa-review-finds-referee-mistakes-caitlin-clark-technical-foul/45780550#