Caitlin Clark puts up 28 points as Iowa cruises past Michigan in Big Ten semifinals

Last updated: 2024/03/10 at 12:21 AM

BigP Published March 10, 2024

Caitlin Clark had 28 points to pad her all-time NCAA scoring total and matched a season high with 15 assists to lead No. 3 Iowa past Michigan 95-68 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

Hannah Stuelke scored 16 points, Kate Martin added 13 and Sydney Affolter had the best all-around game with 12 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals as the Hawkeyes (28-4) moved within one win of a third straight conference tournament title.

Caitlin Clark dominates with 28 points and 15 assists in Iowa’s win over Michigan

Iowa will play Nebraska for the championship on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Huskers beat eighth-seeded Maryland on Saturday to reach the final for the first time in 10 years.

With fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall again spearheading the effort, the Hawkeyes were locked in and maxed out on defense. They quieted first-team All-Big Ten pick Laila Phelia for most of the game after her season-high 30 points fueled an upset of No. 12 Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Phelia had 21 points and seven assists, Jordan Hobbs scored 14 points and Lauren Hansen added 13 points for the Wolverines (20-13), who went just 12-for-38 on 2-point shots. Michigan made its first seven 3-pointers and, after its first miss from deep midway through the second quarter, already trailed 39-30.

The Hawkeyes ran up a 54-16 points-in-the-paint advantage, founded by all the layups they set up with their season-high-tying 30 assists, and hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to finish it off and delight the Iowa-dominated sellout crowd that has flocked to see Clark and her teammates everywhere they play.

After missing 12-of-14 tries from deep in the 95-62 quarterfinal defeat of Penn State, when she still became the all-time NCAA leader in 3-pointers made, Clark downshifted her outside shooting a bit and let her inner point guard loose throughout the first half.

Whether with one-handed stretch passes bouncing across the court to hit her teammates in stride on the break or with a quick flick to feed a backdoor cut, Clark’s distribution game was in high gear.

She hit a 3-pointer early in the second quarter during a 9-0 run that gave the Hawkeyes the lead for good, then zipped a behind-the-back pass to Affolter for a 3-pointer off a break started by Martin’s steal on the next possession.

The sixth-seeded Wolverines likely secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament by beating third-seeded Indiana.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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