Caitlin Clark authored another piece of history and No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball staved off an upset bid in a 67-58 rivalry win over Iowa State.
The senior superstar poured in 35 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists to lead the way in the Hawkeyes’ win. In the process, Clark became just the 15th player in women’s basketball history and the first in Hawkeye history to surpass 3,000 career points.
An 8-0 fourth-quarter spurt by Iowa State turned a seven point Iowa lead into a one point Hawkeye deficit, but Iowa responded with some timely defensive plays and Clark’s magnificence. The Hawkeyes closed with their own 13-4 run.
Along the way, Clark assisted graduate guard Kate Martin on a pair of buckets and then wiggled free from the defense in the paint for a key layup to put the Hawkeyes in front 62-56 with 2:02 remaining.
In the game’s final three minutes, Iowa came away with a trio of key steals to help ice the victory. Two came from Martin and another from junior guard Sydney Affolter. Fifth-year guard Molly Davis added one final steal in the closing seconds just for good measure.
Martin was the only other Iowa player that reached double-figure scoring. The 6-foot guard finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Iowa (9-1) shot just 34.9% from the floor and only 29% from 3-point range, but the Hawkeyes limited Iowa State (4-4) to 34.4% shooting and 25% from 3-point distance.
The Hawkeyes forced 11 Iowa State turnovers and scored 13 points off the Cyclones’ giveaways. Iowa came away with nine steals and blocked five shots. Redshirt junior center Sharon Goodman had four blocks.
Ultimately, any win will do in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. Hawkeye fans were pleased on social media after Clark’s latest bit of history and the big rivalry W.