By Pat Harty

The three-peat is complete.

Caitlin Clark found her shooting touch just in time as the Iowa women’s basketball team withstood a determined Nebraska squad to prevail 94-89 in overtime in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament championship game at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Clark scored 30 of her game-high 34 points in the second half and overtime as Iowa improved to 29-4 and has now won three straight Big Ten Tournament titles.

Iowa also has almost certainly secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Clark was among four Iowa players that scored in double figures, along with Hannah Stuelke (25), Kate Martin (13) and Syd Affolter (11).

Martin also made two 3-point baskets in overtime, while Stuelke made two free throws with 17 seconds left in overtime to give Iowa a 94-89 lead.

But it was the 6-foot Clark who controlled the game down the stretch with her passing, scoring and with her defense.

The West Des Moines native was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Tournament.

“I think our first half, obviously, wasn’t very good across the board, for myself included,” Clark said on the CBS post-game interview. “And you really have no choice but to figure it out at halftime and really respond and that’s exactly what we did.”

Clark only scored four points in the first half and missed all her shots from three-point range as Iowa trailed 46-35 at halftime.

The Hawkeyes chipped away at the deficit in the third quarter and then took the lead at 53-52 on a lay-up by Clark with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left the quarter.

Clark then made a 3-point shot to give Iowa a 56-55 lead with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. It was just her second made three in the game.

Nebraska then answered with a three, but then Clark made two free throws with two seconds left in the quarter to even the score at 58-58 heading to the fourth quarter.

Nebraska led by seven points in the fourth quarter, but Clark and her cohorts weren’t to be denied in a game that had 16 lead changes.

They fed off the energy from a sold-out and Hawkeye-heavy crowd in the Target Center.

“How about these fans,” said Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder. “How about these Hawkeye fans. They are absolutely amazing.”

Editor’s note: Susan Harman will have more game coverage from Minneapolis.