(Minneapolis, MN) – This Big Ten Women’s Basketball Conference Championship was one for the history books after Iowa defeated the Nebraska Huskers in overtime 94-89 in a game that went all the way down to the wire. Sunday’s championship win marked a three-peat for the Hawkeyes and the fourth straight trip to the championship game.
Nebraska led with just under three minutes left to go in regulation by eight points, but Iowa went on a 10-2 run to tie things up to head to overtime due to the clutch shooting from Kate Martin and Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes won the overtime tipoff and were able to knock down the first five points in overtime, but the Huskers responded with a scoring run to take a two-point lead. With a hand in the face, Clark was able to knock down a three-pointer and take the lead while the Huskers continued to foul down the line. Nebraska was never able to come back as Iowa took the win.
“Even being down eight with just over two minutes to play, we never gave up,” said Clark.
Diving in to look at the Hawkeyes, they were led in the game by Caitlin Clark, who had just four points in the first half of action and ended up with 34 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds. Her double-double marked the 64th overall in her career. She was a key to the Hawkeye’s overtime victory as she combined with Kate Martin to score 21 of Iowa’s 27 points at the end of regulation and overtime. Speaking of Martin, she scored 13 points and snagged seven rebounds, most of which were at crucial points in overtime and the second half. The second leading scorer was Hannah Stuelke who had 25 points, nine rebounds, and a steal. Stuelke also was able to shoot 11-18 from the field and 3-5 from the charity stripe, missing her first two free throws in the tournament. The last double-digit scorer was Sydney Affolter who had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while going a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
On the opposite end, Nebraska held through all game long, as Alexis Markowski and Natalie Potts continued to keep the Hawkeyes on their toes. Markowski led the Huskers scoring 23 points and hauling in 13 rebounds for a double-double. Markowski also dished out five assists and swiped away two steals. Potts was able to knock in 21 points while snagging nine rebounds. While taking some deep threes in the game, some fell through for Jaz Shelley who knocked down 16 points and threw out 13 assists for a double-double. Last but not least was Logan Nissley who had 13 points and five rebounds in the game.
Caitlin Clark was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP for the third consecutive time as the only player since 1995 to earn MVP honors in three straight tournaments. The game featured 16 lead changes and four ties while Iowa overcame their largest halftime deficit this year. After the game, Caitlin Clark said, “This was definitely the hardest tournament to win out of the last three. I am so proud of our team. They are so resilient. Our fans here today were incredible, if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think we win.
Caitlin Clark set an assist career tournament record with 112 assists in 13 tournament games. Clark and Sydney Affolter were also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team after the competition.
Iowa and the Hawkeyes will wait until next Sunday, March 17th for the NCAA Selection Sunday to see their next opponent.
