The biggest disappointment of the tournament so far was that No. 10 Creighton knocked out No. 2 Iowa on the Hawkeyes home floor, sending Caitlin Clark and Iowa home as well as advancing to the first Sweet 16 in program history.
Creighton’s game-winning shot was made by a familiar Hawkeye face as defenseman Lauren Jensen hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to give the Bluejays a 63–62 lead. Jensen played for Iowa a year ago and moved to Creighton in search of more playing time; she scored nine of Creighton’s last 10 points.
Iowa had two late win chances, but Clark missed a layup, and after Creighton split a pair of free throws, Monica Chinano missed a layup due to post-up. The Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16 where they would face either No. 3 Iowa State or No. 6 Georgia.
“We had nothing to lose in this game,” Jensen said in a televised interview after the game. “We played well all season, we believed in each other.”
Creighton led 23-17 after the first quarter, making five three-pointers in the first quarter. Creighton led for almost three quarters, leading by as much as 12 points in the second quarter, until a pair of three-pointers from Gabby Marshall gave the Hawkeyes a 56–54 lead in the fourth quarter with 6:51 remaining.
It looked like Iowa would break away late, but the Hawkeyes failed to land enough hits and Creighton took advantage, cutting their lead and eventually winning.
Creighton finished the game with 10 3s, none of them more than Jensen, 10th and last at the end. The Bluejays have now upset two higher seeds after eliminating the No. 7 Colorado in the first round.
Clarke finished with a record low of 15 points and did not score in the second half. Chinano, the nation’s leader in field goal percentage, scored 27 points on 12 of 20 shots.