ALBANY – The top-seeded University of Iowa women’s basketball team downed third-seeded LSU, 94-87, on Monday night in a National Championship rematch at MVP Arena. The Hawkeyes advance to the second straight Final Four and third in program history. National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark willed Iowa to the victory, finishing with 41 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. The West Des Moines native added three more records to her ledger – career NCAA Division I 3-point field goals made, career NCAA Tournament 3-point field goals made and career tournament assists. Iowa had two additional Hawkeyes finish in double digits with Kate Martin scoring 21 points and Sydney Affolter adding 16. The Hawkeyes will take on the legendary University of Connecticut program, led by coach Geno Auriemma and his 11 national championship wins, and another superstar in Paige Bueckers on Friday.

AMES – Following a sports betting scandal that saw several athletes criminally charged at Iowa and Iowa State University, and the subsequent controversy that saw many of those counts dropped, lawmakers are dropping an effort to tighten gambling laws in the state. The Des Moines Register reports Iowa’s Legislature Administrative Rules Committee objected to a proposal in mid-March, focusing on a rule that showed online betting companies would need to maintain a list of athletes and coaches who would not be permitted to gamble on their own teams. The rules came from the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission. The changes have been delayed to the end of the 2025 legislative session, giving lawmakers a chance to further change or eliminate the effort.

EMMET COUNTY – There’s just one long remaining county not impacted by a beetle that has ravished a species of trees across the state. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that the Iowa Department of Agriculture has confirmed in 98 of 99 Iowa counties the appearance of the invasive emerald ash borer, dating back to the first known confirmation in Allamakee County in 2010. The most recent report came in Palo Alto County — neighboring the last remaining without a confirmed appearance. State conservation officials have estimated there were about 55 million ash trees in Iowa before the beetle’s arrival.