In Caitlin Clark’s final home game as an Iowa Hawkeye, she needed 18 points to break Pete Maravich’s scoring record, which had stood unbroken since 1970.
In the final seconds of the first half, Clark stepped to the free throw line, sinking both attempts to become the new NCAA scoring leader.
After Maravich’s record stood unthreatened for over 54 years, last season, Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis finished three points shy of the record. USC’s freshman phenom JuJu Watkins is currently on pace to reach the plateau Clark is setting.
Clark started to receive national attention last season when she helped carry Iowa to the national championship before losing to LSU.
She is known best for her impressive three-point shooting and the distance from which she has the ability to make her shots.
Clark also is a good passer, averaging 8.1 assists per game throughout her career, with this season’s 8.7 average being her career best.
The record was broken at the free-throw line in a win on Sunday against No. 2 Ohio State, who has now dropped to No. 5.
As for the game itself, it was a rematch between the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes featuring the Big Ten’s top two teams, who will possibly meet again in the Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship.
The first matchup was in Columbus on Jan. 21 when Iowa was ranked No. 2, and Ohio State was still all the way back at No. 18.
The Buckeyes came back from down a dozen in the fourth quarter to force overtime, where they went on to pull the upset by a score of 100-92. Clark scored nearly half of her team’s points that afternoon, pouring in 45 on the road.
The Buckeyes continued to roll afterward, with their win streak swelling to 15 and rising in the rankings all the way to No. 2.
Iowa had struggled as of the last few weeks, losing two of their last five before hosting the Buckeyes. However, the Hawkeyes were prepared when Ohio State came to spoil senior day.
Iowa only trailed twice, both times just by two points early in the game, but after taking a 10-7 lead four minutes into the game, the Hawkeyes never gave up the lead.
After going down 25-10, Ohio State showed some fight, cutting the lead to five with just a few seconds left in the second quarter. However, a foul on the Buckeyes resulted in a pair of free throws for Hannah Stuelke, and a questionable technical foul resulted in another couple of free throws, this time for Clark.
In a very anticlimactic fashion, the technical free throws were the points that broke Maravich’s record.
Ohio State went on a 7-0 run to start the second half, cutting the lead to 48-46, but the Hawkeyes answered, pushing the lead back to eight.
The Buckeyes would stay in it, but Iowa slowly began to pull away and held an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Down 13, Ohio State had an opportunity to cut it close when Iowa scored just four points over a five-minute span, but they could not do so, as they only scored seven points and still trailed by ten with a little over three minutes left.
The Hawkeyes closed out the game behind Clark’s 35 points and nine assists, winning 93-83, closing out the regular season with a 26-4 (15-3) record and the No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll.
Ohio State finished the regular season 25-4 (16-2), ranked No. 5, and will be the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
On March 8, the Buckeyes will play either Illinois or Maryland in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, which takes place in Chicago.
As the two-seed in the conference tournament, Iowa will play Wisconsin or Penn State.
ESPN Bracketology currently projects the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten Tournament and be a top seed in March Madness, which means they would host the first two rounds before going to neutral sites for the later rounds. Iowa is projected to be a two-seed.
The two teams are expected to meet in the conference championship and could possibly meet for a fourth time this season in the Final Four in Cleveland, but for now, they’re focused on winning the Big Ten Tournament.
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
