Iowa women behind Caitlin Clark’s 41-point masterpiece advance to Final Four for second straight season
Caitlin Clark and cohorts defeats LSU 94-87 in Elite 8
By Pat Harty
I’m not predicting that Caitlin Clark and her cohorts will win a national championship, but they sure seem poised and capable to do so.
Maybe I’m over-reacting, a prisoner of the moment.
But can you over-react when Caitlin Clark is involved?
Iowa’s 94-87 victory over Louisiana State in the NCAA Elite 8 on Monday was spectacular in how Iowa gladly accepted the challenge to play at a feverish pace against LSU’s athletic roster, and then would go on to shred the Tiger defense.
Clark dominated the game, finishing with 41 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and nine 3-point baskets made.
Iowa now advances to the Final Four for the second straight season, and for the third time in program history.
Iowa bolted to a 17-9 lead, and led 31-26 after the first quarter, ending the half on a 10-0 scoring run.
But the Tigers rallied in the second quarter as Angle Reese dominated in the post.
The score was even at 45 at halftime, but then Iowa built an 11-point lead in the third quarter as Clark dominated as a scorer and as a distributor. She made four 3-point baskets in the third quarter .
The 6-foot senior from West Des Moines also made one of her jaw-dropping threes that gave Iowa a a 75-65 lead with 8 minutes, 2 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter.
Game over.
There was no way Clark would allow a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to evaporate, not with what was on the line, and with how well her teammates were playing.
“I think just confidence, confidence in all the work that I’ve put in, trusting my teammates,” Clark said on the ESPN post-game interview. “But we really knew it was on the defensive end. We knew we were going to be able to be fine on offense. We’ve been fine on offense all year. I think it was just getting stops and being physical.
“They (LSU) rebounded the ball really well. But we weathered every storm. You’ve got to give them (LSU) a lot of credit. They had a great year.”
Reese fought and played valiantly, but she just didn’t have enough help to withstand Iowa’s offensive machine led by arguably the greatest player in the history of women’s collegiate basketball.
This is special what we’re witnessing, a once-in-a-lifetime legend lifting her team to unprecedented heights.
She did it last season by leading Iowa to the national title game for the first time ever where it lost to LSU, 102-85.
All that’s left now is winning a national title, and it’ll take a team playing at an extremely high level on both ends of the court to derail this Hawkeye express.
Now, of course, Iowa could lose in the Final Four, but that wouldn’t damage what Clark has accomplished as a women’s collegiate basketball player.
She has made women’s college basketball more relevant than it ever has been.
She hasn’t done it alone, but she has been the driving force as a sports and cultural icon.
The mark of a great player is making those around you better, and Caitlin Clark is certainly meeting that challenge in spectacular fashion.