Caitlin Clark and Iowa had to rally together to come back from a double-digit deficit to force overtime, and they went on to win their third straight Big Ten tournament title in an extremely close game against Nebraska.
Caitlin Clark could be heard encouraging sell-out Iowa crowd with the team in a precarious position, needing an answer to Nebraska to come back and win in the Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday.
As the game was tied heading in to overtime, Clark was seen and picked up by cameras motioning towards the crowd in Iowa, as she shouted: “Come on! Five more minutes!”
Nebraska had already defeated Iowa once this season and looked like it could do so once again when it went up by a point with 1:11 to go in overtime. But Clark had it taken care of, making a clutch 3-pointer and two free throws to help Iowa to a 94-89 victory.
That was despite an extremely cold opening to the game, which included missing her first nine shots from deep.
The all-time NCAA leading scorer finished 5-for-17 from 3-point range, with 34 points while adding 12 assists including hitting the late long-shot as well as the clutch free throws to close the game.
The win now means Clark has won three consecutive Big Ten tournaments, and she praised the team’s spirit in the comeback after her slow start.
She told reporters: “If we’re down 15 points with 2 minutes left or down five with 2 minutes left, we have the firepower to be in any game.
We just found a way to win, and that speaks to the team that we have, the maturity we have on this group. We were down … I don’t remember exactly what it was, with two minutes to play, and we never gave up.”
Clark added: “We fight back. Bad shooting, good shooting, defensive stops. Can’t be happier for our group. This was the only way we could end it. So just really grateful.”
Over 18,000 were in attendance to see Clark in her last Big Ten Tournament game ahead of the NCAA Tournament set to begin later this month.
“BACK TO BACK TO BACK !!!!!!!” wrote Clark on X in celebration. “GET THE GIRLS SOME RINGS!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU HAWK FANS”
Clark will hope to win her first national championship, with undefeated South Carolina and last year’s champions LSU among the other favorites.
After the season, Clark will move onto the WNBA Draft after declaring earlier this month. Clark is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Hot news: Caitlin Clark backs BF Connor McCaffery’s dad Fran McCaffery as Iowa HC becomes winningest coach Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark took another step towards the college women’s basketball scoring record with a 32.0 point effort against the Wisconsin Badgers, surpassing former Baylor center, Brittney Griner for fourth place.
While she was out breaking records, the father of her boyfriend Connor McCaffery, Fran, also broke one.
The senior McCaffery became the winningest coach in Iowa men’s basketball history with win No. 272 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers whom the Hawkeyes beat 86-77 on Monday evening.
Fran McCaffery surpassed former Iowa great, Tom Davis as the coach with the most wins, taking 14 seasons to achieve the feat. Caitlin Clark took to X highlighting her boyfriend’s father’s achievement and retweeting the post celebrating the record.
Fran McCaffery breaks two records in one week
It has been an eventful week for Fran McCaffery, as he first broke Iowa’s men’s basketball Big Ten win record when he recorded win No. 127 against Rutgers.
He beat the Scarlet Knights 86-77 to surpass Tom Davis’ 126 wins before breaking the overall win record later in the week. During his postgame news conference, McCaffery was typically modest and heaped praise on Davis and his players.
“Well, considering the amount of respect I have for that man and how long I’ve known him and the standard that he’s set for anybody that came after him, it’s a tremendous feeling.
“It’s also an indication, it’s indicative of, I have really good players. I have really good players with character,” McCaffery said.
Hot news: Caitlin Clark signs new sponsorship deal with Indiana Fever’s sponsor ahead of 2024 WNBA Draft Caitlin Clark has become a household name and has sponsorships with companies like State Farm and Nike, to name a few.
She is now adding another as she heads towards the conclusion of her Iowa Hawkeyes career.
Clark has signed a multi-year deal with Gainbridge, a financial service company.
Gainbridge is based in Indiana and has the naming rights to the arena where the Indiana Fever play.
Clark, who has an NIL valuation of $3.1 million via On3, is expected to be the first overall pick, which is held by the Fever, in the 2024 WNBA draft.
The company is no stranger to signing with women in the sports world.
Former tennis superstar Billie Jean King and LGPA Tour golfer Annika Sorenstam also have deals with Gainbridge.
Also Read: “This was never a long shot”: Nike has special tribute to Caitlin Clark for breaking Pete Maravich’s long-standing NCAA record
Can Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes win the 2024 March Madness?
The Iowa Hawkeyes ended the regular season as the second-ranked program in the nation and have shown that they could go toe-to-toe with any program.
The Hawkeyes are tied with the reigning national champion LSU Tigers for the second-best odds to cut the nets this season, at +800.
The team ahead of them is also the only one ahead in the AP Poll, the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks.
They are loaded, sitting at -115 to win the NCAA Women’s Tournament. However, with the explosive offense the Iowa Hawkeyes possess, they could create an intriguing matchup.
News
Caitlin Clark Leads 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Semifinalists
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and nine others were named semifinalists for the 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Award on Thursday. The full list of…
Caitlin Clark Leads 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Semifinalists MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MARCH 10: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes dribbles against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second half during the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship at Target Center on March 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) Adam Bettcher/Getty Images Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and nine others were named semifinalists for the 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Award on Thursday. The full list of semifinalists for the most prestigious individual prize in women’s college basketball is as follows: Madison Booker, F, Texas Cameron Brink, F, Stanford Paige Bueckers, G, UConn Kamilla Cardoso, C, South Carolina Caitlin Clark, G, Iowa Hannah Hidalgo, G, Notre Dame Elizabeth Kitley, C, Virginia Tech Angel Reese, F, LSU Jacy Sheldon, G, Ohio State Judea “JuJu” Watkins, G, USC Naismith Awards @NaismithTrophy 🚨 ATTENTION🚨: Introducing the 2024 @jerseymikes Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Semifinalists🔥#JerseyMikesNaismith pic.twitter.com/ilHLkb54Ma Clark, who swept the Player of the Year awards last year, seems like a virtual lock to go back-to-back as Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year. The likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft leads Division I women’s college basketball in scoring (31.9 points per game), assists (8.9 per game) and three-pointers made (5.2 per game), while also chipping in 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. She is also shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. In a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal win over Penn State last week, Clark set the all-time record for most three-pointers made in a season by a woman or man in Division I college basketball, surpassing Stephen Curry’s record of 162. Clark also previously broke “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s all-time career scoring record of 3,667 points. With Clark leading the way, the Hawkeyes are the No. 2 team in the nation with a 29-4 record, and they won the Big Ten tournament title over Nebraska on Sunday. In addition to Clark, three of the other top-five scorers in women’s college basketball this season are Naismith semifinalists as well. Watkins (27.0 points per game), Hidalgo (23.3 points per game) and Kitley (22.8 points per game) are second, third and fifth, respectively, in scoring this season, and any of them would be strong candidates to be named Player of the Year under different circumstances. Bueckers is the other semifinalist averaging at least 20 points per game this season with 21.3 points per contest to go along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks. Her season is made even more impressive by the fact that he 2021 Naismith Women’s Player of the Year missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a torn ACL. Representing the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks, who are undefeated with a 32-0 record, is Cardoso. Her averages of 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.1 assists per game don’t necessarily jump off the page, but that is because South Carolina has such a deep and balanced team. Cardoso likely won’t be a legitimate contender for National Player of the Year because of that, but she deserved recognition as the best player on the best team. Reese, who was the women’s NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player last year en route to LSU winning the national title, has enjoyed another excellent season on a stacked LSU team. She averaged 19.0 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per contest for the Tigers, who are the No. 8 team in the nation with a 28-5 record. Reese’s Tigers and Clark’s Hawkeyes memorably clashed in the National Championship Game last season, and while Reese got the better of Clark on that occasion, Clark figures to get the nod for 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year. Sign up to Play the NCAA March Madness Women’s Bracket Challenge.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and nine others were named semifinalists for the 2024 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Award on Thursday. The full list of…
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