After a surprising loss to 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 pace to set winning records in his NCAA career, was thrown to the ground as Ohio State fans stormed the court, sparking a new round of national court-storming discourse.
“I was just trying to get off the court as quickly as possible, so I started running and I got completely knocked down by someone trying to run onto the court,” Clark said after scoring 45 points in the loss had. “Basically completely caught off guard and kind of scary, could have caused me a pretty serious injury.”
Clark and the Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) look to get back on track with the Cornhuskers (13-6, 5-3) at 2 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned for updates as the game progresses:
Clark hit a 3 at the buzzer (what else is new?) and Iowa ended the half with 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 had eight points and Sydney Affolter 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 to average a double-double this season.)
Yes, Clark is a senior…but she could come back next year and be a super senior if she wanted to.
Although she is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she could return to Iowa City next season. Since Clark was a freshman in the 2020-21 season, she has a COVID year (basically, that season didn't count toward anyone's eligibility).
After a few more points from Clark – including a hard drive and finish – she already has seven points and five rebounds. It's just crazy how quickly she can fill up a stat sheet.
Meanwhile, Nebraska turned the ball over four times in the last 3:21 minutes. Not the way to upset Iowa.
Back-to-back baskets late in the quarter by Jaz Shelley, Nebraska's best all-around player, helped Nebraska gain momentum, and the Huskers trailed by just three points early in the second period.
Clark was fouled in the first quarter and spent the final few minutes on the bench, but shots from Molly Davis and Gabby Marshall, Clark's backcourt partners, helped Iowa maintain its lead. With Clark back on the field to start the second quarter, don't be surprised if there's an offensive explosion.
Not exactly the start you want as a Cornhusker.
Nebraska missed its first eight shots from the field, allowing Iowa to go on a 9-0 run. And Clark only has three points – but she also has four rebounds and two assists.
Iowa is very tough in transition, especially with Clark leading the break. Although Clark is an excellent scorer, she is by far the best passer in college basketball, a skill that is often overlooked.
Clark, a senior, is 6-foot-10. Tall guards have become more and more common in women's basketball over the last decade, and Clark's size absolutely helps her because she is able to see past defenders on the kickoff and helps her gain vertical separation when taking a shot executes.
Also of note: Clark, who is fairly skinny, worked hard to put on eight pounds of muscle last summer, and that has made a big difference in her game, especially when driving to the rim.
The women's college basketball game between the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET in Iowa City and will air on Big Ten Network.
By now you've probably heard that Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark, the reigning National Player of the Year, tends to sell out every arena she plays in. But taking a closer look at #Clarkonomics — as ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli called it — USA TODAY reporter Jim Sergent put together a vivid overview of how much Iowa fans will spend and how far they will travel to see Clark in person see. The numbers are telling to say the least.
IOWA CITY — De facto bye weeks in the grueling Big Ten season are all about timing and what precedes them. For No. 5 Iowa women's basketball, five days between games was a welcome restart after a hectic weekend.
“The mood on the team is actually pretty good,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said Friday. “They are really looking forward to getting back on stage. We had a few days off, which was really nice with the start of the new (semester).”
“Sometimes I don’t really like a bye week after a loss because you have to sit on it for so long. But I think when you also have time to sit on it, you process it a little more and don't do it anymore. “You can’t just move on straight away.”
There was a lot to process after Sunday's 100:92 overtime loss to the then No. 1 team. 15 Ohio State, which marked the Hawkeyes' first stumble in two months and their first road loss of the season. Then came the avalanche of distractions following Caitlin Clark's postgame confrontation with a Buckeyes fan and additional criticism on social media that the Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten Conference) endured.
It's easy to see why taking a break was beneficial.
—Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register
Caitlin Clark has 3,351 career points (and counting!) after scoring 45 points against Ohio State on Sunday
- Points close to breaking Kelsey Plum's women's scoring record: 177
- Points close to breaking Pete Maravich's record: 317
- Statistics for 2023-24: 31.7 points per game, 7 rebounds, 7.7 assists