Caitlin Clark records first career triple-double against Western Illinois

The freshman is the first Hawkeye to accomplish the feat since Sam Logic did it in 2015.

Kate Heston

Iowa Guard Caitlin Clark, who starts on Iowa’s women’s basketball as a true freshman, celebrates after an Iowa victory over Iowa State on on Wednesday, Dec. 9,2020. The Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones in a close game, 82-80. While walking into the tunnel after the win over the Cyclones, Caitlin exclaimed “this is a Hawkeye state.”

Isaac Goffin, Assistant Sports Editor


The Iowa women’s basketball team’s 92-65 win over Western Illinois on Tuesday was not a surprise, but a memorable feat from one Hawkeye will etch the game into the brains of Hawkeye fans for the foreseeable future.

Freshman guard Caitlin Clark, who was averaging 29.8 points per game before Tuesday, scored a season-low 13 points. But she did record her first career triple-double with 10 assists and 13 rebounds. She completed her triple-double with an assist to junior forward Logan Cook, who scored in the paint.

“I knew I was close, but I didn’t know how close,” Clark said. “And I think because I wasn’t shooting the ball very well tonight – just in the fourth quarter get other teammates shots, get them their confidence going, get them easy buckets for sure was kind of my mentality in the fourth quarter.”

Clark’s triple-double is the first from a Hawkeye since Sam Logic posted a triple-double on March 27, 2015, against Baylor.

“They’re special,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They don’t happen very often and so I’m really thrilled with her as a freshman to be able to accomplish this. She found other ways to contribute which is great.”

Bluder said she and the coaching staff realized Clark was nearing a triple-double. Bluder wanted Clark to achieve the feat, though she didn’t tell her before she got it.

“I think she knew she could get it this game,” Bluder said. “And she has high goals and high expectations for herself like champions do, and she fulfilled it.”

Clark had a bad day from the field, going 3-of-15. But she did shoot 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Junior center Monika Czinano led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 19 points. The win was Iowa’s 40th straight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes did get what they wanted in the end, but not before the Leathernecks tested them early.

After trailing 16-13 with two minutes to go in the first quarter, the Hawkeyes fought back by getting points from multiple players and were up 41-29 at halftime.

“I think some of the transition defense issues we continue to face,” Bluder said regarding giving up good shots. “We gave them some 3’s early and then there was a point where I got my five guarding a guard because they’re small ball and that’s not always the easiest thing to do and I think that this will be the last time seeing that sort of thing. I think the rest of the people we’ll be playing will be a lot more traditional.”

With the Leathernecks now behind them, the Hawkeyes face a stretch of 17 or 18-straight Big Ten games depending upon whether or not Iowa’s canceled Dec. 19 matchup with Ohio State is rescheduled.

Iowa, which is 5-1 on the season, handled its first Big Ten game of the year well. The Hawkeyes defeated Wisconsin, 85-78, on Dec. 5. But its second Big Ten game of the season didn’t end the way Iowa wanted it to, as the Hawkeyes lost at Michigan State, 86-82, on Dec. 12.

The Hawkeyes’ next game is on New Year’s Eve against Rutgers at 2 p.m. The game is at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and will be streamed on BTN+.

There are five teams in the Big Ten ranked in the AP Poll: No. 14 Maryland, No. 15 Indiana, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 18 Ohio State, and No. 19 Michigan.

“I think we’re definitely ready,” freshman center Sharon Goodman said. “We’ll keep working, obviously, and it will be exciting and tough stretch for us. But we’ll be ready, and we’ll put on a show.”