Breaking News:Caitlin Clark’s finally fulfill long promise she is world class
It would not inspire sonnets. It would not be framed in the Louvre.
Caitlin Clark missed her first nine 3-pointers. She scored a season-low four first-half points. She committed seven turnovers. She missed an overtime free throw. She threw her hands in the air after each failure, shifting blame from the rim to the refs to the basketball gods. She punched a chair, then slammed another.
Then, she completed one of her greatest days at Iowa.
Leading the No. 2 Hawkeyes back from a 13-point deficit — and an eight-point margin in the final two minutes of regulation — Clark recovered to finish with 34 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and a series of clutch moments to give Iowa its third straight Big Ten Tournament title in a 94-89 overtime win over No. 5 Nebraska at the sold-out Target Center.
With the three-peat, Iowa (29-4) almost certainly secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992.
Clark became the second player in league history to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament three times.
In the 18 years prior to Clark’s arrival, the Hawkeyes won one Big Ten Tournament
Playing her third game in less than 48 hours, Clark showed no fatigue, but unrelenting frustration, missing her first six shots.
Clark’s unsung supporting cast — namely, Hannah Stuelke (25 points, nine rebounds) and Sydney Affolter (11 points, 11 rebounds) — kept it close until the ice thawed.
Trailing 46-35 at the break — Iowa’s third halftime deficit of the season — Clark hit her first two shots of the second half, including her first 3- pointer. She scored 14 third-quarter points, putting the Hawkeyes in front for the first time since the opening minutes.