Gabbie Marshall and Caitlin Clark (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Today, at the Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland, Ohio, the Iowa Hawkeyes will take on the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks with the NCAA women’s national championship on the line.
While this is easily the biggest game in women’s college basketball, it’s still just a game. However, it appears as though some people are having a tough time remembering that.
Fans taking sports way too seriously has unfortunately become an issue, especially in the social media era. And over the weekend, it appears as though things have gone way too far, as Iowa superstar Gabbie Marshall was forced to delete her social media accounts as a result of all the threats she received following the Hawkeyes’ Final Four victory over UConn.
For those who missed it, the Hawkeyes defeated the Huskies thanks to a controversial foul late in the game. With just four seconds remaining and Iowa leading by one, Marshall was able to draw an offensive foul against Aaliyah Edwards, which essentially sealed the victory for the Hawkeyes.
While speaking with reporters ahead of today’s game, Gabbie Marshall revealed that she’s been receiving a ton of hateful comments on social media, forcing her to delete her pages as she looks to focus on the task at hand.
I hate this. #Hawkeyes senior Gabbie Marshall has gotten angry messages directed at her about the screen call last night so she has decided to delete social media.
"That one play consumed everything."
Video by @SEhrhardtKCCI @KCCINewspic.twitter.com/ZCRwuNpOfq— Scott Reister (@scottreister) April 6, 2024
Was Gabbie Marshall Really Fouled?
While many were in an uproar over the call, most of those people seemed to disagree with the official’s decision because of the moment of the game during which it was called. Even UConn head coach Geno Auriemma admitted that it was an illegal screen. However, he felt as though it was happening all game, at both end of the courts, but only the Huskies were getting called for it.
In the end, the refs did appear to get the call right. And the result is an epic battle in the finals that will see Gabbie Marshall, Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Hawkeyes players attempt to capture their first national championship in the program’s history while handing the Gamecocks their first loss of the season.
