TimesDigest E-Edition

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark: Out of This World, From Everywhere

KRIS RHIM and TALYA MINSBERG TALYA MINSBERG

SEATTLE — Caitlin Clark’s long-distance shooting prowess has made her one of the most electrifying players in college basketball. Now, Iowa is headed to the Final Four of the women’s N.C.A.A. tournament for the second time in program history after Clark led an offensive assault for the Hawkeyes in a 97-83 victory against fifth-seeded Louisville on Sunday night.

An offensive assault is, perhaps, an understatement. Clark finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, the first 40-point triple-double in any N.C.A.A. tournament game, men’s or women’s.

Even when the Cardinals shrank

Iowa’s lead at moments, the question became less about which team would advance to the national semifinals Friday in Dallas and more about what else Clark might accomplish in her spectacle on the floor.

By halftime, Clark had 22 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists. How much more could she pile on?

A lot, it turned out.

When Clark scored her

first 3-pointer of the third quarter, Mykasa Robinson of Louisville looked exasperated, with good reason.

Clark, a finalist for the 2023 Naismith national player of the year award, had a stat line so gaudy that ESPN added a small “Caitlin Clark triple-double alert” band atop the scoreboard for its telecast as she chased her clinching rebounds and kept putting up points.

It did not seem as if it would be so one-sided from tip-off. Hailey Van Lith and Louisville came out of the gate quickly, putting up 8 points in the first two minutes before Iowa had anything on the board.

This was not the first time Clark and Van Lith met on the court. The two roomed together while playing for U.S.A. Basketball’s under-19 team in 2019, and ahead of Sunday’s game, Clark called Van Lith the Cardinals’ “engine.”

Near the end of the first quarter, Clark rebounded the ball and flew across the court for her signature 3-point money shot. That started a turnover and shooting spree — another 3-pointer by Clark, a 3-pointer by Kate Martin off a turnover and another jumper by Mckenna Warnock. From there, the rest was effectively a showcase.

SPORTS

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2023-03-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://timesdigest.pressreader.com/article/281616719624100

New York Times