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FOR those who had only read or heard about Iowa's Caitlin Clark, watching her tear apart defending NCAA Division One Women's champion South Carolina (36-0) in today's Final Four semifinal 77-73 was a revelation. The Hawkeyes will meet Lousiana State University in the Final on Monday with Clark alone worthy of tuning in.

She did it with such abundant ease too, scoring 41 points, sticking the key free throws down the stretch, dishing eight assists and snatching six rebounds.

In a word, she was sensational and South Carolina and its seasoned coach Dawn Staley never found an answer for her.

On a 42-game win streak dating back into last season, South Carolina was the prohibitive favourite to not only win its semi but to cruise to back-to-back championships.

"I'm so proud of my women because I think they're the only people that really believed," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "I don't think anybody else, unless you were in black and gold, believed that we were going to win that game."

Iowa started in a triangle-and-two zone/man defence which immediately put South Carolina onto a back foot and allowed Clark to roam and set up an early 8-2 advantage.

Attempts to keep the ball out of her hands failed miserably as Iowa overcame some foul issues for centre Monika Czinano, who still added 18 points and was on the receiving end of several of Clark's assists.

Bound for the WNBA, SC's stud Aliyah Boston finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists after running into early foul trouble which inhibited her throughout and kept her from becoming a factor.

South Carolina hit the front early in the final quarter but Clark stepped up immediately, first swishing a 3-pointer, then feeding Czinano and Iowa's lead was back to two possessions.

DALLAS: Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) attempts a three-point basket over South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson (25) in the semifinals of the women's NCAA Final Four at American Airlines Center. Picture: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In the last six minutes, Clark scored Iowa's final 10 points, sealing the victory from the stripe.

Her 41-point tour de force pushed her past the 1,000-point mark for the season and saw her join only five other players in the history of women's college basketball to accomplish that feat.

She was "jump from your seat" brilliant, exceptional, mind-blowing.

It was a grim semifinal though for Ballarat's Georgia Amoore who struggled to find her shot as her Virginia Tech outfit could not sustain its offence in the final quarter and lost 72-79 to LSU.

Amoore's Hokies produced an 11-0 run to halftime to turn a 23-32 deficit into a 34-32 lead, then scored the first five points of the second half to have LSU at their mercy.

With her 3-pointer in the third to create a 46-37 buffer, Amoore made history by breaking the NCAA Tournament record for made 3-pointers.

Still leading 59-50 with a period to play, Virginia Tech was outscored 29-13 as Angel Reese (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Alexis Morris (27 points) wrested control at the same time as VT ran shy of offensive options.

The result means Melbourne's Last-Tear Poa has a shot at the championship with LSU but Amoore and Canberra's Virginia Tech freshman Charlise Dunn are done for 2023.

NCAA Final Four Semifinals:

LSU 79 (Morris 27, Reese 24, Williams 16; Reese 12 rebs; Poole 3 assts) d Virginia Tech 72 (Kitley 18, Amoore, Traylor 17, King 14; Kitley 12 rebs; Kitley 3 assts).

Iowa 77 (Clark 41, Czinano 18, Martin 7; Martin 7 rebs; Clark 8 assts) d South Carolina 73 (Cooke 24, Cardoso 14, Johnson 13; Cardoso 14 rebs; Boston 3 assts).