Caitlin Clark: 41 PTS | 8 AST | 6 REB vs South Carolina | 3.31.23

DALLAS -- On Feb. 26, the Iowa Hawkeyes were 1.5 seconds away from their second consecutive loss to end the regular season. Now, they are 40 minutes from winning the 2023 NCAA women's basketball championship.
But instead of losing that game to the Indiana Hoosiers, Caitlin Clark launched a game-winning 3-pointer. That second and a half kick-started a nine-game winning streak that has landed the Hawkeyes in their first national championship game.
Since then, Clark has 235 points, 82 assists and 52 rebounds in the postseason, winning the Big Ten tournament, the Seattle 4 Regional title and getting the upset of this NCAA tournament Friday night as her Hawkeyes ended No. 1 overall seed South Carolina's 42-game winning streak with a 77-73 victory at American Airlines Center.
In front of a sellout crowd that included tennis legend Billie Jean King, Clark delivered the goods once again. Everyone has had an idea of how to stop Clark, but no one has been able to do it. The expectations for Clark rise every game, and she has risen to the occasion.
"I think I'm just really, really thankful to be in this position more than anything," Clark said. "Like Coach [Lisa] Bluder said, probably everybody in America picked South Carolina, deservedly so. They've been ranked No. 1 all year. They've won 42 straight basketball games. Why wouldn't you pick them?
"But at the same time, the people in our locker room believed in us. That's all you need is a belief in one another, a confidence in one another. We just do it for the person to our left and our right."
And when you have someone like Clark beside you, it's easy to believe. In a tournament that in the past 30 years has seen epic individual performances from the likes of Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson, Clark has already put her name among the greats with this NCAA tournament run.
With Iowa's first Final Four in 30 years in sight in the regional final vs. the Louisville Cardinals on March 26, Clark delivered a masterpiece: a 41-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist triple-double that had her name trending on Twitter for several days afterward. It will continue after Friday's tour-de-force: 41 points, again, along with eight assists against the best defense in Division I women's basketball.
Her teammates and Bluder say nothing Clark does surprises them anymore. They see the magic in practice each day. The long 3-pointers, the pull-up jumpers, the drives to the rim, the soft shots off the glass, the passes long and short that make fans gasp at her brilliance.
And when the lights are the brightest, Clark's light gets brighter. Longtime Iowa assistant coach Jan Jensen has been watching Clark play since she was in junior high.
"Caitlin is just wired differently," Jensen said in the Iowa locker room. "She's got a confidence about her. With Caitlin, you can just see it in her eyes. She leans into moments. She wants them. She has practiced the moments since she was little.
"She knows basketball. She watches the men's game, she knows the women's game. She knows her craft. She said, 'I'm going to Iowa. I'm going to take them to a Final Four. She said this when she was in high school. And where are we now?"
Teammate Kate Martin said sometimes she has to remind herself she's playing alongside someone who could very well be in the early stages of one of the great careers in women's basketball history.
When Clark went to the foul line twice in the last 14 seconds for high-pressure free throws to seal the victory, Martin wasn't nervous.
"I would take her at the line all day over anybody in the world," Martin said. "I'm proud of her. She deserves all the recognition. I see it all the time. I know I'll appreciate it even more when one day when I'm older and I'm looking back and thinking, 'Wow, that was my teammate.'"
Clark has one more game to achieve the ultimate: A national championship. The second-seeded Hawkeyes face the No. 3 seed LSU Tigers, which beat the top-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies 79-72, on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
But for Friday night, she and her teammates wanted to enjoy another unforgettable night.
"It's so fun to play with her honestly," Iowa forward Monika Czinano said. "Getting to watch that every single day, getting to be a part of it, you can't make it up. It's one of the coolest things I'll ever do in my life. I love it."
www.espn.com/womens-college-b...

[@thewarden549]

Tears of joy every time I see these highlights!! These young women are amazing! They believe and trust each other!!

[@FACTZ973]

Caitlin Clark is the TRUTH!!! She is not normal. Shout out to the entire team and their efforts thus far. They definitely seem destined to secure the 2023 chip.🔥🔥🔥

[@williamweiss6128]

Always a pleasure to see a very intelligent player in basketball. Team is on 🔥.

[@ig6894]

That's why I love the LSU team, very intelligent.

[@jameslaughter5183]

Lisa Bluder: Best game plan ever !!!

[@Montrosesister12]

What? To win?

[@channelofhannahhere]

She's a legend! Love seeing her play. She's smart, takes the time to observe the court and player placement, plays with team spirit, and is a great guard. Rare these days! Like her attitude and demeanor too.

[@dwightlove3704]

This should have been the NATIONAL TITLE GAME!!!!!

[@25PETERTYLER25]

What...no the national title game was the one she lost get over it bum

[@ricardosalazar5743]

The Larry Bird of the NCAA, lol.

[@GrubLifeTx]

Amazing stuff!

[@johnraymond9170]

Best game I’ve ever seen!

[@user-zd7ko1ei3k]

LSU should be thanking Iowa for it's championship ring, courtesy of Caitlin Clark!

[@joelmcclintock6328]

Awesome in general yes awesome for Iowa damn right awesome for basketball and women's basketball.... this is why they play the game and with Caitlin and this crew just feels so right....go Iowa awesome and go Iowa bring it home....even if that doesn't happen Iowans are so proud

[@hahafalseflag5090]

that Iowa party gone be lit

[@joshnic6639]

What makes Clark different? Answer: i’ve watched a lot of girls basketball, I have two daughters. Girls don’t start and stop like boys do they just don’t it takes them a split second longer, but not Caitlin Clark. Her go and stop and go again is like a boys. Yes she can shoot from deep, Yes she has a quick release, but so do some other girls, that’s not what makes Caitlin different, it’s her start and stop.

[@johnthazelett8833]

She credits her change of speed and pace ability to playing alot of soccer growing up

[@MikeyD22]

She's been doing this since grade school. She credits playing against boys during her early years with her toughness and competitive play. One in a million.

[@ChairmanMeow1]

she is so aggressive. push push push, run run run. always thinking transition. difficult player to stop when she can pull up for a 3 at any time too.

[@wbblreview]

Amazing

[@kennybob3096]

Funniest thing, i'm going to watch a girls college basketball game in my 63 years. Can't wait.

[@danpals7678]

I never watched a women's basketball game until CC but they are more fun to watch than anything else right now. You've been missing out. This is her third year with two more to go.

[@lg_1226]

She 🐐

[@Sienja]

Her and that Center of SC is doing damnnnn good. lol

[@JackycClark]

Don't let it go to your heads , Pokey's waitin for ya .

[@doctorwilly]

There is some Steph curry in her game. She scares opponents with elite shooting and punishes double teams masterfully.

[@loidoyao8571]

Looks like katie smith, hitting threes...

[@michaelbowers3842]

it's the passing

[@ludwig9625]

She should declare for NBA draft

[@sixfootbear]

Can women play in the male NBA?

[@dwaynedye6402]

LARRY BIRD THE FEMALE VERSION

[@louispillette3237]

Larry Bird never disrespected another player that!!!!! Tell her teams are gonna remember that!!!!!!!

[@MikeyD22]

Omg, I can't believe I read this. Larry Bird was the greatest trash talker in NBA history. There are over a hundred videos on KZbin of NBA players talking about Bird's legendary shit talking. And, he could back it up. Caitlin called out Louisville's best player for mouthing off the entire game and especially when they were down 15 points at the end of the game.

[@edwardcurl8286]

Not to bright Ru..bird talked crap to everyone who played against him...smh..just another b.s comment from a hater.

[@louispillette3237]

@@edwardcurl8286 dude shut up, Larry Bird was a pro. He wasn't doing that to college students. She's disrespectful like I say and it will catch up with her ugly self. Not backing down boy!!!!

[@YouTubeCensors]

You were right about it coming back to her BUT 100% wrong about Bird. Shows you know Zero about The NBA.

[@D3L3T3]

L

[@dwightlove3704]

Clark had 8 turnovers in this game

[@TheDonchido]

She putting up Westbrook numbers on that front

[@jimbates6227]

If your point in mentioning her turnovers is to say she isn't perfect, you're right. She makes plenty of turnovers. I don't know of anyone who watches her regularly that thinks she's perfect. But, those same people have learned to tolerate the turnovers knowing she'll make some awesome passes to feed her teammates. Caitlin is just being Caitlin, and her long-time fans will take that little bit of bad because we know about all the tremendous good. Millions of people have just recently heard about her and are impressed. Welcome to Catilin's world.

[@jasonmartin5154]

Who won?😢

[@cbrend22]

Gag. She chucked it uo 34 times, in 39 minutes!!!!! She shot less than 50% and and 29% from 3 and had 8TO!!! Lucky for Iowa her teammates shot over 50% and make only 2 TOs COMBINED! Complete low efficiency gunner. Imagine having the nerve to chuck up 17 3 pts in ONE game and shoot only 29%?? That would get most players benched for life. Every one of those missed threes (12!) creates a long rebound and an 80% chance of nunbers the the other way....just like a turnover. That equates to roughly 18 TOs for her in the game. That's middle school stuff.

[@hello520111]

i am almost sure IOWA is going to lose the next game.

[@hillbillyhippie4235]

Crystal ball eh ?

[@hillbillyhippie4235]

@@chocolatebeauty9131 Hee hee like they did for South Carolina all year

[@MikeyD22]

The whole country thought that a few days ago.

[@danpals7678]

You're a troll. Everyone always thinks Iowa is going to lose. We are used to it. Coaches have been trying to stop CC for years and no one has been able to.