Caitlin Clark vs. Iowa State: Dec. 9, 2021
Point 114
In her first appearance in the heated in-state rivalry, Clark led unranked Iowa to a stunning comeback over No. 24 Iowa State, scoring 34 in an 82-80 win. With Iowa trailing by 17 to start the fourth quarter, Clark went off, scoring 14 in the last period. Her signature bucket came with 22 seconds to play and Iowa trailing 80-79, when she hit what would be the game-winning 3. It was the first game-winner of her college career.
With Iowa down to seven healthy players because of a COVID outbreak, the Hawkeyes trailed 70-54 to start the fourth. That’s when Clark went off, scoring 25 in the final period, including 17 in a row that featured a barrage of 3pointers. She finished with a careerhigh 46 in a 98-90 loss. ranked Maryland, and with 17,950 fans packed into the Xfinity Center – most alternating between cheers of awe for Clark’s skill and boos because it’s fun to hate on the best player in the game – Clark pump-faked, took one dribble to the left and nailed a long 3 with 5:54 to play. The shot put Iowa in front for good, and the Hawkeyes went on to win, 9385.
“To see her play in person, the only thing I can equate it to is when (Michael) Jordan would come to town. … She has so much creativity in her game; it’s not just that you’re seeing a great basketball player, she’s an artist. The logo shot on the left side, it was just a flick of her wrist – to have that kind of strength and explosion, to be able to thrust that ball through the air with that kind of pinpoint accuracy, you don’t see that.”
– Fox Sports lead college basketball play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson
Caitlin Clark vs. Northern Iowa: Nov. 12, 2023
Point 2,806
It became clear early in Clark’s career that she would eventually become Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, passing former All-American Megan Gustafson. It was plain old fun that she did it on a post-up versus the Panthers.
“Her freshman year, as soon as I watched her play I was like, this is ridiculous. She creates a lot of challenges because she’s so unpredictable. You don’t know what she’s going to do at any given moment. I thought it was really cool that with all that she does, she got the (Iowa) record on a post move. Her off-ball movement has gotten really good since her freshman year … to always have that much (defensive) contact on you, it’s exhausting. She makes it look easy – but it’s not. She works extremely hard for every possession she gets.”
– Megan Gustafson, Iowa AllAmerican who played for the Hawkeyes from 2015-19 and now a member of the Las Vegas Aces
Caitlin Clark vs. Louisville:
March 25, 2023, NCAA Elite Eight
Point 2,620
Trailing 8-0 early vs. the fifth-seeded Cardinals, Clark took over, reeling off seven unanswered points. But she really started to heat up with 2:46 left in the first quarter, when she hit back-to-back 3s. The second gave Iowa a 20-18 lead, an edge it would never relinquish, as the Hawkeyes went on to win 97-83. She finished with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, the 11th triple-double of her career. She became the first player in NCAA Tournament history, man or woman, to record a 40-point triple-double. She accounted for 72% of Iowa’s offense, and became the first player in Division I history to score 900 points and hand out 300 assists.