With just under four seconds remaining in their Final Four clash with Iowa, UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards was called for a moving screen on a game-deciding play after appearing to block Hawkeyes No 24 Gabbie Marshall.
The Huskies were left furious with the controversial offensive foul call, which helped Iowa creep over the line with a 71-69 victory and into the Championship game against South Carolina.
It was a decision which divided opinion on social media, with several fans unhappy at UConn being denied a final offensive play in the dying seconds.
One of those critics was LeBron, who hit out at the call in a furious post after Iowa held on for the win in his home state Ohio.
He wrote on X: ‘NAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I ain’t rolling with that call.’
WNBA star Kelsey Plum, who sat courtside for the game in Cleveland, joined LeBron in condemning the decision, writing: ‘To call that on a game deciding play is so wrong WOW’.
A number of fans also expressed their fury with the moving-screen call, even going as far to suggest that Iowa and star player Caitlin Clark received favorable treatment from the officials.
One said: ‘Am I the only one who thinks this game was rigged for Caitlin Clark and Iowa to go back to the championship? That Aaliyah Edwards screen was not an offensive foul’.
Another put: ‘I’m rooting for Caitlin Clark but that offensive foul on that UConn pick with 5 seconds left down 1 was suspect at best and a tragic case of taking fate away from the players at worst.’
A third said with a clip of the foul: ‘They called this foul against UCONN btw, I need a Congressional investigation tomorrow’.
While another commented: ‘Legitimately one of the worst offensive foul calls I’ve ever seen… Let alone with 4 seconds left & the game on the line.
‘Feel sick for Aaliyah Edwards & UCONN. There’s just no world where this is a moving screen. Brutal.’
However, not everyone disagreed with the referee’s decision on the night, with others adamant that Edwards was guilty of a moving screen late on.
One posted: ‘That’s a foul people. Sorry.’
‘It’s clear as day,’ said another. ‘I understand it sucks that the game ended on it, but it’s the correct call.’
While another said: ‘I thought it was a bad call in real time, but definitely the right call on the offensive foul on UCONN’.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma was not best pleased with the decision, claiming that a similar call could be made on every possession in the game.
‘There’s probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession,’ Auriemma said in his postgame press conference.
‘I just know that there were three or four of them called on us and I don’t think there were any called on them.’
Star player Paige Bueckers, meanwhile, refused to criticize the officials and instead pointed to her own off-night.
Bueckers admitted: ‘Everybody can make a big deal about that one single play but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes that could’ve prevented that play.’
Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes are now just one win away from an NCAA championship after their controversial win over UConn.
The all-time leading NCAA scorer had an extremely quiet first half by her lofty standards, scoring just six points as UConn took a 32-26 lead into halftime.
But in front of a star-studded crowd that included Jason Sudeikis, Machine Gun Kelly and WNBA stars like Plum, Clark came alive in the second period as she finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Hawkeyes to the win.
It was actually her teammate Hannah Stuelke who led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 23, while Paige Bueckers had 17 for UConn in defeat.
Iowa, still looking for its first national championship after falling to LSU in the final last year, will face South Carolina for the crown on Sunday.