Clark, Iowa rally for OT win in Big Ten title game

MINNEAPOLIS — With 2:38 left in regulation and trailing by eight points Sunday, the Iowa women’s basketball team didn’t look as if it would be celebrating its third consecutive Big Ten tournament title or anticipating a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But when a team has the veteran guards the Hawkeyes do — led by superstar Caitlin Clark — almost nothing is too much to overcome. No. 3 Iowa rallied to force overtime and beat Nebraska 94-89.

“We just found a way to win, and that speaks to the team that we have, the maturity we have on this group,” said Clark, who had 34 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. “I just think this team is never out of a game. We have the offensive firepower to be in any game, and we all believed that, we all knew that and we never gave up.”

With the Big Ten tournament title, the 29-4 Hawkeyes are in great shape to be an NCAA No. 1 seed for the third time in program history and first time since 1992.

“I think we do deserve a No. 1 seed. If we don’t get it, oh well. It’s OK. We can’t control that,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “But I think it would just mean a lot to our program and how far we’ve come to have that recognition.

“But if we don’t get it, we’re going to play the same basketball we would if we were 1, 2, 3, 4.”

The Hawkeyes made the Final Four last season as a No. 2 seed. They lost two starters, Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock, from that squad, but Bluder never questioned whether Iowa would be a contender this season, too.

“Everybody kept talking about how much we lost,” Bluder said. “We kept saying, ‘Look how much we have.'”

Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke was ready to step into Czinano’s shoes as the primary interior scoring threat. Fifth-year senior guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall were back providing leadership, defense, grit and the ability to hit big shots. The bench included players such as junior guard Sydney Affolter, who was poised to have a bigger role.

They all had their moments Sunday: Stuelke had 25 points and nine rebounds. Martin and Marshall combined for 19 points. Affolter made the all-tournament team after an 11-point, 11-rebound performance.

And of course, there was Clark, the MVP of the Big Ten tournament for the third season in a row. Her afternoon was a story of struggle, resilience and then brilliance. Sunday’s game was Nebraska’s fourth in four days and Iowa’s third in three, but for the first half, the Huskers looked to be the fresher team and led by 11 at the break. Clark had trouble scoring in the opening 20 minutes, getting just four points and going 0-of-9 from behind the arc. It was the most misses without a make from 3-point range in any half of her Iowa career.

“Probably my worst half,” she said.

But Clark didn’t become the Division I overall scoring leader by shying away from shooting. In the second half and overtime, she had 30 points and was 5-of-8 from long range.

“I think the biggest thing was we just started running our offense in the second half,” Clark said. “It was a lot better. It was a lot cleaner. We got good looks. We made a few more shots.”

The last 2:12 of regulation showed Iowa’s guard experience at its best. The Hawkeyes outscored Nebraska 10-2 to force overtime, with Clark scoring or assisting on all of those points. Clark hit a 3-pointer, followed by a Stuelke layup, a Martin 3-pointer and a Clark layup.

It was a remarkable turnaround: Nebraska seemed so near to nailing down the program’s second Big Ten tournament championship (the Huskers won it in 2014) and knocking off Iowa for the second meeting in a row. The Huskers won their second regular-season matchup with Iowa 82-79 on Feb. 11 in Lincoln, Nebraska; the Hawkeyes had won 92-73 in Iowa City on Jan. 27.

But as close as Nebraska seemed to the title, it wasn’t close enough.

“When you get into the groove and into the game, those thoughts kind of don’t even cross your mind,” Clark said of just how big a hill the Hawkeyes had to climb at the end of regulation. “You’re just there. You’re playing. You trust one another.”

While the momentum was with the Hawkeyes going into overtime, they had to battle there, too. Nebraska took an 87-86 lead with 1:11 left. But Clark answered the bell again, hitting her fifth 3-pointer of the game, getting a steal and then making two free throws. That gave the Hawkeyes a 91-87 lead that they never relinquished.

Clark also made the last play of the game, a steal with four seconds left. She dribbled out the clock and tossed the ball into the Target Center crowd, filled mostly with Hawkeyes fans.

“I just chucked it,” Clark said. “I hope some fan has it. Good for them.”

It was Clark’s last Big Ten game, and — unless they somehow meet in the NCAA tournament — her last against a Nebraska team she has plagued. Clark scored 30 points or more in all 10 career games against the Huskers, winning nine of them.

She leaves the Big Ten as the league tournament’s career leader in scoring (327) and assists (112) in 13 games. Now, the senior expected to be the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft looks toward her final NCAA tournament.

“We just want to keep having fun with each other and enjoying these moments,” Clark said. “We know how long and how hard it is to get to the Final Four but how much fun it is at the same time. So I think having that experience under our belt is going to certainly help us, too.”