NCAA explains controversial ending to Clemson-Southern Cal WBB tournament game
The Clemson women’s basketball team was on the wrong end of a controversial call during its 71-67 NCAA Tournament loss to Southern Cal on Saturday.
The Tigers were tied 61-61 with the Trojans and had possession with 4.4 seconds left in regulation at Colonial Life Arena, needing to go the full length of the court for a potential game-winning shot in their March Madness opener.
It looked like No. 8 seed Clemson had that when senior guard Mia Moore hit a wild, running 3-pointer at the buzzer, prompting players and coaches to storm the court. A referee on the floor also whistled No. 9 Southern Cal for a foul on Moore’s attempt, meaning she’d get free throws even if she didn’t get her shot off in time.
But in a move that Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said caught him completely caught off guard, the officials ruled that Moore didn’t get her shot off in time — and, after timing Clemson’s final possession with a stopwatch, determined that the ref’s whistle for a foul on Southern Cal was blown after the clock hit 0.0.
Moore’s game-winning 3-pointer was taken off the board, as was a potential foul call which would’ve sent Moore (a career 74% free throw shooter) to the line with less than a second on the clock for three free throw attempts in a tie game. The Trojans had no timeouts at that point, so Moore likely only needed to make one.
Southern Cal outscored Clemson 10-6 in overtime and won by four points to advance to a second-round game vs. No. 1 South Carolina on Monday.
The NCAA released a pool report late Saturday explaining the review and said the “determining factor” as to when a foul occurs is “when officials observe the illegal contact, not the official’s signal for a foul or contact that is not yet illegal.”
The NCAA also confirmed that the refs on site followed protocol by timing Clemson’s final possession by hand with a stopwatch.
“If during a replay review involving plays impacted by the game and/or shot clock, officials must ascertain whether the appropriate clock(s) started or stopped properly,” the NCAA said. “When a clock in question does not start properly, the officials shall time the play to determine whether it occurred before or after the expiration of time.”
In a statement attributed to top women’s basketball officials supervisors Jon Levinson and Penny Davis, the NCAA defended the final outcome.
It wrote of Moore’s shot: “At replay, the officials determined that the illegal contact (foul) occurred after the expiration of time. The made basket could not be scored as the try was not released prior to the expiration of time and the fourth quarter ended in a tie score, sending the game to overtime. ”
Coaches, player react to wild ending
Poppie, Clemson’s second-year coach, was visibly frustrated with how the end-of-game review process was handled and made that known postgame.
“I had no idea,” Poppie said. “I thought they were just reviewing: ‘Did she get the shot off in time? And if not, when did the foul occur?’ I had no idea that they took a stopwatch over there and tried to clock it from. I had no idea that was going on. Obviously, it was a little bit of a shock because we had no clue until that point.”
After Moore swished a running, one-legged 3-pointer on the right wing, referees immediately whistled for a review to see if the shot was released in time. They also indicated a foul had been called, per the ESPN2 broadcast of the game.
A slow-motion replay revealed the ball was still in Moore’s hand when the clock hit 0.0 seconds, but the other question (whether or not Southern Cal’s Jazzy Davidson fouled Moore before the buzzer) took longer to resolve.
“Initially, I thought it was good, but I guess it came off short,” Moore said. “I really thought I was going to at least get the foul call there and be able to at least go to the foul line.”
The review included a manual stopwatch timing of Clemson’s final possession to see if the game clock started at the exact moment Moore touched the ball in the backcourt and started the Tigers’ final possession or later.
Here’s how lead game official Fatou Cissoko-Stephens explained the ruling during an in-arena announcement: “After review, the game clock started on time. There was no foul before the game clock expired, and the ball was still in her hand when the game clock expired. So right now, we’re going to overtime.”
The ESPN2 broadcasting team of Mike Monaco and Stephanie White said it was clear Moore didn’t get the shot off in time, but the announcers agreed the foul call (or lack thereof) was “close” and a “tough one” for the officials.
Poppie said it was “very difficult” to rally his team ahead of overtime, considering they’d just rushed the floor and thought they’d won the game. Clemson was making its first NCAA appearance since 2019 and only its second since 2022.
“Whether they count the basket or Mia goes to the free-throw line, and they have no timeouts, everything in their mind is we just won a first-round game,” Poppie said. “... You can motivate all you want, but there’s a question mark in their minds as they go out there.”
The Tigers scored the first three points of overtime before Davidson, Southern Cal’s star freshman, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Trojans up 67-64 with 1:05 left in overtime. Clemson never led again.
“It was a tough, tough day for Tigers,” Poppie said. “Sad locker room in there, but nothing to hang your head on. I couldn’t be more proud of the group we have. They fought their butts off. Unfortunately, today, Southern Cal was one possession — or 0.1 seconds — better than us.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 7:52 PM.
