Iowa City, IA- The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team punched their ticket to the Final Four last night after taking down Louisville 97-83. This will be the program’s second trip to the Final Four with their first dating back to 1993. The key to the Hawkeyes’ success? A junior from West Des Moines named Caitlin Clark.
Donning number 22 for the black and gold, Clark has limitless range from the court and will pull up from just beyond the half-court line and sink the shot. Her 27.3 points per game is 3rd in the country and her 8.6 assists per game leads the country. Her play led the Hawkeyes to a #2 seed in the tournament and she has played out of her mind from there.
In the first round, Clark had a double-double with 26 points and 12 assists against Southeast Louisiana. Georgia was looking for the upset and did the best defensively against the junior, but #22 still managed 22 points and 12 assists for another double-double. Clark flipped a switch in the Sweet 16, scoring 31 points and dishing out 8 assists on their way to an 87-77 victory. Then in the Elite 8, history was made.
Louisville entered the game as the #5 seed and Iowa’s toughest competition up to that point. A high scoring game ensued that saw Clark do something that no one—man or woman—had done in NCAA tournament history. Her 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists performance made her the first player to ever have a 40-point, triple-double game in NCAA tournament history. She already had the first 30-point triple-double in March Madness history.
In case you were curious of Clark’s three-point total through the tournament, her 8 three-pointers against Louisville gave her 19 three-pointers in the tournament. Additionally, Clark is looking to join the 1,000-point club as she’s totaled 984 points this season. She would join fellow Hawkeye Megan Gustafson, Maddy Siegrist, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Stiles, and Odyssey Sims as others who have scored 1,000 points in a single season.
Iowa will face off against the winner between South Carolina and Maryland on March 31st with the winner going to the championship.