Caitlin Clark did Caitlin Clark things again on Sunday, scoring 30 of her game-high 34 points in the second half and overtime as she led Iowa to its third straight Big Ten title.
Iowa trailed No. 5 Nebraska 46-35 at the break and Clark had just four first-half points on 2 of 13 shooting. But the soon-to-be top pick in the WNBA Draft didn’t become college basketball’s all-time leading scorer by accident.
Clark got going just 29 seconds into the third quarter, hitting a jumper to pry the lid off the basket. Nebraska still led by 9 with less than 7 minutes to go in the third quarter, but an 11-1 Iowa run capped off by a Clark layup gave Iowa its first lead with 2:17 to go in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Nebraska managed to take an 8-point lead with 2:38 to go, looking like it would win the rubber match in the third meeting between the two.
But Clark had 12 points in the fourth quarter alone and either made or assisted every Iowa fourth-quarter basket, including one of her signature stepback 3s and made a layup to tie it in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime.
In overtime, the two teams traded haymakers, with made three after made three. Nebraska’s Logan Nissley gave the Cornhuskers a 1-point lead with a late three, but Clark couldn’t let someone take her move as she hit yet another stepback 3 to give Iowa the lead for good with 51 seconds left.
Ultimately, Iowa would pull away for a 94-89 win on the back of 34 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds for Clark, who capped off her Big Ten career in style by leading a comeback win over a very game Huskers squad. Now, the Hawkeyes seem destined for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament where Clark will try to lead Iowa to their first national title.
