ALBANY, N.Y. — MVP Arena swayed with every bucket. The eyes of the sports world firmly fixed on downtown Albany, New York.

Inside the sold-out, pulsating arena, LSU women's basketball and Iowa were never going to disappoint. Too many stars and too much at stake in their Elite 8 battle for a spot in the Final Four.

For more than two hours, the Tigers' and Hawkeyes' top-billed by megastars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark rocked the Elite 8 stage, as both teams constructed runs, fed off the crowd's boisterous energy and delivered an award-winning performance.

LSU and Iowa were tied at halftime, shooting nearly the same percentage from the field and each had nine assists.

Iowa (33-4) kept building after halftime while LSU went ice cold as the Hawkeyes won the rematch of last season's NCAA championship 94-87 on Monday night.

The Tigers' (32-6) season comes to an end in the Elite 8.

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Angel Reese leads LSU women's basketball against Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Reese was determined from the outset of the Elite 8 showdown. She powered her way to 10 points in the first quarter and set the table for LSU on both ends of the floor. Her steal late in the first period gave LSU its first lead of the contest.

When LSU needed a basket, guards dumped the ball inside to Reese as she shot 6-of-11 from the field early, jumpstarting runs and sustaining them for the Tigers.

Reese's hot start was sorely needed for LSU as Iowa, thanks to Clark, got off the fiery start, shooting 71% from the floor. Reese fouled out late in the fourth and finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds for her 16th straight double-double.

LSU could not contain Caitlin Clark

Coming out of halftime, LSU point guard Hailey Van Lith nearly ripped the ball from Clark on a pass. Clark was able to wrangle in it, collected her dribble before launching a long-distance 3-pointer off the bounce that retook the lead for Iowa. Less than two minutes later, she fired off another 3, this one off balance for her 25th point of the game and it rattled to put the Hawkeyes up 55-49 at the 8:02 third-quarter mark.

Van Lith had the tough order of trying to limit Clark when she was on the floor. Last-Tear Poa guarded her when she entered the game.

It didn't matter who was on Clark, she was locked in. The star point guard dropped 41 points, tying an NCAA record with nine made 3s, and also had 12 assists.

LSU can't overcome offensive woes in third quarter

It was the worst time to go cold from the field. Clark made four of seven 3s in the third that helped build the Hawkeyes' 69-58 advantage going into the final period.

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LSU went 5-of-26 in the third quarter, including missing 11 straight shots at one point, and by the time Reese made a layup to end the streak with 2:22 left in the third, Iowa boasted an 11-point lead.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball falls to Caitlin Clark, Iowa in Elite 8