Caitlin Clark of Iowa (photo by Iowa Athletics)
One week away from the start of the Big 10 tournament, the national sensation, Caitlin Clark, stepped out into another sold-out, away, arena. This time she faced the Golden Gophers of Minnesota for the second time this season. Iowa as a team is coming off of a big win against Illinois where they proved they were more than just Clark. They showed that as a whole team, they are formidable. Iowa shut out the Illini women 101-85.
This win was crucial for them as they had just been destroyed by the Indiana women in Bloomington. Even though the reffing was questionable, to say the least, Iowa and Clark had their worst games of the season. The other team to upset Iowa, the Ohio State women, clinched the seasonal Big 10 championship Wednesday. I’m sure it added some insult to injury for Iowa. That alone seemed to be enough for Iowa to come to Minnesota and make a statement.
Clark’s Game Against Minnesota
Clark came into the first quarter with smoke immediately emanating off of her neon green Nike’s. She immediately put up 6, 3’s and ended the quarter with 21 points. This is out of Iowa’s 30, leaving the Golden Gophers with just 16. Clark was not the only girl on fire during this game. Kylie Feuerbach came off the bench with 2, 3’s, while Iowa’s senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, Gabbie Marshall, had a beautiful 3. As a team Iowa made 12/21 3-pointers before the end of the first quarter, leaving the score with Iowa at 39 and Minnesota at 16.
The second quarter was more of the same with it ending at 53-26 at the half. To put that in perspective, The Ohio State women scored 67 total in their game against Michigan on the same day. Iowa already had 53 points at their half. Clark finished the first half with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Smoke doesn’t just come off of her Nike’s, it comes off of the basketball when she passes it. She has proven time and time again that she is not only proficient in scoring but she also has over 1,000 career assists.
Finishing the Game Strong
In almost all the games that Iowa has lost this season (there have only been 4 of them) they have had the lead, slowed down, and let the other team come back on them to win. However, there were no signs of slowing down in this game. By the middle of the 3rd quarter, Iowa was up 68-35 and they were playing with the intensity of a team that is hungry. No foot was coming off of any pedal. Gabbie Marshall had a stand-out performance putting up 4, 3’s of her own up by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Toward the end of the fourth quarter, Clark had made her statement with her 17th triple-double, 33 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Her message was clear; Ohio State better sleep with one eye open until Sunday. Taylor McCabe came in off the bench for Clark and played like the ghost of Clark was still out there. She hit a total of five, 3’s or 15 points for the night in only a few minutes of playing time. Alongside McCabe was Molly Davis with 11 points, Marshall with a total of 16, and Feuerbach with 13. If there was a time to flex this was it, and Iowa flexed like the Incredible Hulk.
Notable Stats
The team role player numbers combined with Clark’s, and jetted Iowa toward a 100-point game. Iowa has hit the 100-point mark 9 times this season. This is virtually unheard of in women’s college basketball. To put that in perspective, NBA games average 114 points per game with 4, 15 minute quarters. These women are scoring in the hundreds with four, ten minute quarters. They are putting up NBA numbers in less time. The final score of the game was 108-60, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Caitlin Clark’s Records
Clark ended the game with 3,650 career points, just 17 shy of the Pistol Peter Maravich record. Though she came up shy of the Pistol Pete record tonight, it must be mentioned that she beat the Lynnette Woodard career scoring record. It had been set by Woodard with 3,649 points in the 1981-82 season in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
Clark and Coach, Lisa Bluder, both acknowledged in the post-game press conference, that Woodard’s was the record to break. According to Bluder, “tonight is the night of the real record, to me the AIAW record that Lynnette Woodard held that was the real one.” She then went on to criticize the NCAA saying “For some reason the NCAA doesn’t want to recognize the basketball that was played before 1982 and that’s wrong.” Those words were very personal to her as Lisa Bluder, herself, played college basketball from 1979-1983 in the AIAW. Caitlin Clark agreed and stated “I wouldn’t have the opportunity to be doing what I’m doing every single night if it wasn’t for people like her (Woodard)” saying, “I think it just speaks to the foundation that these women have laid for us to be able to play in environments like these.”
What’s Next
The next Iowa Hawkeye game will be this Sunday at noon Eastern. It will be the last game of the regular season and be Caitlin Clark’s last regular season game as she will head to the WNBA draft in April. Marshall and Martin will also be looking to uphold their legacy as they are seniors who will be moving on and will not be back next season.
These emotional factors and their previous loss in Columbus with Ohio State winning 100-92, will surely have the Hawkeyes looking to avenge themselves and prove that they should be the rightful BIG 10 Champion. The Hawkeyes will have the home-court advantage this time, but Ohio State will have their key players, Jacy Sheldon and Cotie McMahon, a deadly combination that put them over the top for the win the last time these two great teams met. It will be a battle to the end and one that all who watch will remember for years to come.
