Hawkeye Women's Hoops 3-Peats
Iowa hadn't been involved in many close games this season. And the Hawkeyes rarely found themselves trailing late.
Those things happened in Sunday's Big Ten Tournament Championship game. They looked comfortable in what can be a very uncomfortable position for teams unfamiliar with it.
Second-seeded Iowa topped Nebraska, 94-89, in overtime at a sold-out Target Center in Minneapolis. The Huskers led by eight points with 2 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in regulation.
"If we want to reach our goals in March, we are going to find ways to win that aren't always pretty. You got to be resilient and gritty," Hawkeye All-American point guard Caitlin Clark said.
"Everybody's given us their best shot all year. Our team is very prepared for it. We have been through it, we're ready for it. Just proud of our group. We weathered every storm we had. We kept fighting."
Nebraska's 11-point halftime lead represented the largest deficit the Hawkeyes (29-4) rebounded from this season. The recovery helped them secure their third consecutive conference tournament title, joining Maryland, Ohio State and Purdue as the only other teams to complete the feat.
"I thought we fought hard tonight, and we had to. It's not very often we have fought from behind," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said.
"We just tried to reset at halftime I thought they came out, and that third quarter was really good, really good. Then we lost the lead, and they fought back again. I'm incredibly proud of our group."
Clark, the heavy favorite to win her second consecutive national player of the year award, netted 30 of her 34 points in Sunday's second half. The senior from West Des Moines Dowling Catholic shot just 2 of 13 from the floor, including 0 of 9 on three-point attempts, before the break.
"At halftime I reset my mind, let it go. I knew some shots weren't going to go in. That's just how it works," she said.
"Obviously, I'm proud of myself. I've put a lot of work into being able to do that and letting things go and relying on my teammates and not pressing as much. Honestly, that might be one of the things I'm most proud of over my entire career."
Clark added six rebounds, three steals and 12 assists against seven turnovers. She was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP for the third year in a row, joining Ohio State's Jantel Lavender ('95) Ohio State as the only players to do that.
Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke added 25 points and nine rebounds for the winners, while teammate Kate Martin chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sydney Affolter joined Clark on the all-tournament team after nothing a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) Sunday.
Alexis Markowski paced the Huskers (22-11) with 23 points and 13 rebounds. They received Natalie Potts added 21 and nine.
"This is heart wrenching and just a super disappointing loss. Our kids came here expecting to win, and nobody else really probably believed that we would even be in the championship game, much less have a chance to win it, but we believed," Nebraska coach Amy Williams said.
"Our locker room believed. Our whole team believed. I'm so proud of the contributions we got from our entire roster this entire tournament. I am proud of the classy group of champions that compete the way they do that we have here at Nebraska."
