Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and an epic Final Four clash

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CLEVELAND -- Before Friday's Final Four showdown, before both players had even made a national semifinal or won a player of the year award, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers first faced off at the college level in a game that seems like a lifetime ago.

It was March 2021, and the NCAA tournament was played in a "bubble," the tail end of a season marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The women's tournament hadn't yet surged in popularity, and couldn't even use March Madness branding.

Bueckers and Clark were just freshmen but were already two of the biggest names in the sport, the former on her way to being the consensus national player of the year. Meeting in…