“Kind of a shocking moment”: UConn’s Kamorea Arnold recalls Final Four battle vs Caitlin Clark and Iowa Hawkeyes
Kamorea Arnold endured a rollercoaster freshman season with the UConn Huskies. Season-ending injuries to Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme saw her become a regular starter in the backcourt last season, an opportunity she took with both hands.
Arnold played a significant role in the Huskies' run to the Final Four, where they suffered a heartbreaking 69-71 loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
During an appearance on Sunday's episode of the "Listen Up" podcast, the talented guard shared her experience battling the Hawkeyes in the Final Four.
"I would say like, during warmups, it was kind of like a shocking moment just because I've never been in this type of environment, like how many people were there," said Arnold. "But once I got through warmups and everything, I just, kind of like shut everything off and shut everything around me just, kind of, off.
Mind, just the game, coaches and teammates, that's all it. So, when the ball went up, the main focus is the game, what objective during the game and stuff like that. I didn't let the crowd affect too much. I just blocked that off, because you can't listen to the crowd or, you know, anything. The noise around you is too much during the game."
Arnold scored 14 points and recorded two rebounds, five assists and five steals in the Huskies' loss to the Hawkeyes. She also made a shot from the field with 2:38 to go in the fourth quarter, with Nika Muhl bringing them to within one of the Hawkeyes by scoring a 3-pointer with just 41 seconds left.
However, that's as far as they would go, as the Hawkeyes made the NCAA Tournament final for the second time.
Kamorea Arnold enjoyed a strong freshman season
Kamorea Arnold was one of the standouts in the Huskies' 2024 freshman class. In 32 starts, she averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists while leading the team in steals (90).
Her impressive performances earned her a spot on the Big East All-Freshman Team as the Huskies went undefeated en route to winning the Big East regular season.
Entering her sophomore season, Arnold should take on more responsibility, as the Huskies will look to win their first national championship since 2016.