Caitlin Clark Breaks Scoring Record, Excites Fans as Iowa Survives Upset Bid vs. WVU
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVMarch 26, 2024
The Iowa women's basketball team is heading to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.
Caitlin Clark and the top-seeded Hawkeyes advanced with a 64-54 victory over eighth-seeded West Virginia in Monday's Albany 2 Region second-round showdown at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
They will face No. 5 Colorado in the next round after the Buffaloes defeated fourth-seeded Kansas State.
As is always the case when Iowa takes the floor, the main storyline was Clark.
The record-breaking guard, who became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer earlier this year by passing Pete Maravich and will almost assuredly be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft, is the biggest name in the sport and again led the way for her side with 32 points and eight rebounds.
She entered play just 29 points away from surpassing Kelsey Plum's Division 1 women's college basketball record of 1,109 points in a single season and set the mark with a late free throw.
Fittingly, she drew plenty of reaction on social media:
Iowa Women's Basketball @IowaWBBPure π₯<a href="https://twitter.com/CaitlinClark22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CaitlinClark22</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hawkeyes</a> <br><br>πΊ ESPN <a href="https://t.co/Forc7vAGJ2">pic.twitter.com/Forc7vAGJ2</a>
Ben Stevens @BenScottStevensCaitlin Clark scored 32 points tonight.<br><br>Clark has now scored 1,113 points this season. <br><br>That is the MOST in a single season in D-I women's history.<br><br>Clark is also the only player to have two straight 1,000-pt seasons.<br><br>Another mark in the record book. <a href="https://t.co/malUpAbPew">pic.twitter.com/malUpAbPew</a>
Clark wasted no time setting the tone when she drained three three-pointers in the first quarter alone, but West Virginia held her to just two points in the second quarter while dialing up the defensive pressure and swarming her all over the floor.
The Mountaineers forced 15 total turnovers, six of which were Clark's. There were times when Iowa appeared to be pressing and playing tight, which led to some of the mistakes.
That defensive pressure didn't go away even when Iowa extended its lead to double digits on two separate occasions in the third quarter. That, along with outside shooting from JJ Quinerly and Kyah Watson, allowed the visitors to consistently battle back and keep the pressure firmly on the Hawkeyes' side.
Iowa's offense was either Clark or nothing for much of the game, which worked when she powered her way into the lane for an and-1 but was a problem when the Mountaineers forced the ball out of her hands and created turnovers while they were in comeback mode.
The home team's first field goal of the fourth quarter didn't come until there were just two minutes and three seconds remaining when Sydney Affolter converted an and-1 to break the tie after a monster block from Gabbie Marshall on the other end.
From there, Quinerly fouled out and Iowa ended up extending its final free-throw advantage over West Virginia to 30-5 by the final whistle. Clark (eight) had nearly as many field goals as the rest of her team combined (nine), and the Hawkeyes survived thanks in large part to the difference in fouls.
But it will likely take better offensive efforts to reach the Final Four as the tournament continues.