After an upset loss against Ohio State on Sunday, superstar Caitlin Clark and the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team are back in action on Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Iowa City.
Clark, who is on track to set NCAA career scoring records, was knocked to the floor while Ohio State fans rushed the court, setting off a new round of nationwide discourse about court-stormings.
“I was just trying to exit the court as quickly as possible, so I started running and I was absolutely just hammered by somebody trying to run onto the court,” Clark said after scoring 45 in the the loss. “Basically blindsided and, you know, kind of scary, could have caused a pretty serious injury to me.”
Clark and the Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) look to get back on track hosting the Cornhuskers (13-6, 5-3) at 2 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the game:
Clark drained a 3 at the buzzer (what else is new?) and Iowa ends the half on a 9-0 run to take a 36-31 lead into the locker room. Clark already has 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and the Hawkeyes are shooting 45% (13-of-29) from the field. Kate Martin has eight points and Sydney Affolter has seven off the bench.
For the Huskers, 6-foot-3 center Alexis Markowski already has eight points and eight rebounds. (She is one of only two Big Ten players averaging a double-double this season.)
After a couple more scores from Clark — including a tough drive and finish — she’s already got seven points and five rebounds. It’s just crazy how quickly she can stuff a stat sheet.
Meanwhile, Nebraska has turned the ball over four times in the last 3:21. Not the way to upset Iowa.
Back-to-back baskets by Jaz Shelley, Nebraska’s best all-around player, late in the quarter has helped Nebraska get going, and the Huskers only trail by three to start the second period.
Clark picked up a foul in the first quarter, and spent the last couple minutes on the bench, but buckets from both Molly Davis and Gabby Marshall, Clark’s backcourt partners, helped Iowa maintain its lead. With Clark back on the floor to start the second quarter, don’t be surprised if there’s an offensive explosion.
Not exactly the start you want if you’re the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska missed its first eight shots from the field, allowing Iowa to jump out to a 9-0 run. And Clark only has three points — but she’s also already got four rebounds and two assists.
Iowa is so tough in transition, especially when Clark is leading the break. For as terrific a scorer as she is, Clark is easily the best passer in college basketball, a skill that’s often overlooked.
Clark, a senior, is 6-foot. Big guards have become more common in women’s basketball the last decade or so, and Clark’s size absolutely helps her because she’s able to see over defenders on the break and helps her get vertical separation when she goes up for a shot.
Also of note: Clark, who’s pretty thin, worked hard last summer to put on eight pounds of muscle and that has made a huge difference in her game, particularly when she drives to the rim.
The women’s college basketball game between the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET in Iowa City, airing on Big Ten Network.
By now you’ve probably heard that Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark, the reigning national player of the year, has a tendency to sell out any arena she plays in. But for a closer look at #Clarkonomics — as ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli has termed it — USA TODAY reporter Jim Sergent worked up a graphic look at just how much Iowa fans will spend and how far they’ll travel to see Clark in person. The numbers are telling, to say the least.
IOWA CITY — De facto bye weeks inside the grueling Big Ten season are all about timing and what precedes them. For No. 5 Iowa women’s basketball, five days in between games was a welcomed reset following a hectic weekend.
“The mood of the team is actually pretty good,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said Friday. “They’re very excited to get out on the floor again. We had a couple days off, which was really kind of nice with the start of the new (semester).
“Sometimes I don’t really like a bye week after a loss because you’ve got to sit on it for so long. But I think when you have time to sit on it too, you process it a little bit more and don’t just move on right away from it.”
There was a lot to process after Sunday’s 100-92 overtime loss to then-No. 15 Ohio State, which marked the Hawkeyes’ first stumble in two months and first road defeat of the season. Then came the avalanche of distractions following Caitlin Clark’s postgame collision with a Buckeyes fan and additional social-media criticism the Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten Conference) had to endure.
Easy to see why a break was beneficial.
– Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register
Caitlin Clark has 3,351 career points (and counting!) after scoring 45 against Ohio State on Sunday
- Points shy of breaking Kelsey Plum’s women’s scoring record: 177
- Points shy of breaking Pete Maravich’s all-time record: 317
- 2023-24 stats: 31.7 points per game, 7 rebounds, 7.7 assists
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
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