INDIANAPOLIS —  Caitlin Clark chucked the ball into the air in the final seconds of the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Tournament Championship Game.

The game ball descended as the buzzer sounded, cementing second-seeded Iowa’s 74-67 victory over fifth-seeded Indiana for the tournament title at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Hawkeyes stormed the center of the court as the Hoosiers faded from the floor. It was a similar sight to when Iowa won a share of the Big Ten regular season title on Feb. 27.

Except this time, there was confetti raining down from the rafters.

“I think this team has done a tremendous job of really enjoying last Sunday, but at the same time, putting it behind us and coming into this Sunday wanting to do it all over again. But with confetti this time, ” Clark said. ”We didn’t have confetti at home. At home, we had 15,000 fans, but no confetti. So, I guess we got the best of both worlds.”

Clark was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament in a postgame ceremony. She averaged 26 points and 9.3 rebounds throughout the three games. Senior center Monika Czinano was also named to the All-Tournament team.

After the confetti poured down, the Hawkeyes — clad in Big Ten Tournament Champions hats and T-shirts —  climbed the ladder to cut down the championship net one-by-one for the second time in seven days.

The Hawkeyes cut their regular season championship title net from the bottom at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 27. Now, as seasoned veterans, Iowa learned to cut its championship nets from the top on Sunday.

Head coach Lisa Bluder was the last Hawkeye to make the climb, swinging the remains of the lacerated net around her fingers to cheers from her team.

“Every time you cut down the nets, it’s fun,” Bluder said. “It’s special because it’s a different group of people. And so the circumstances are always different. Your season progresses and you have different highs and different lows. You have different battles that you have to fight and work through.”

Only four Hawkeye players were on the team for both the 2019 and 2022 tournament titles: Czinano, redshirt junior Kate Martin, and seniors Logan Cook and Tomi Taiwo.

Iowa has won the Big Ten Tournament title four times since 1995. The Hawkeyes cut down nets in 1997, 2001, 2019, and 2022.

But the 2021-22 Iowa squad made history with its victory on Sunday night. The Hawkeyes became the first Iowa women’s basketball team in program history to win the regular season and tournament titles in the same year. 

“I just processed the last one, and now I’ve got another one to process,” Czinano said. “But I think this team, just, we’ve been working for it. We’ve been envisioning it the whole season. This was one of our goals we’ve been focused on.”

The Hawkeyes have cut down two nets so far in 2021-22. But Iowa’s not done yet.

“We want to cut down more nets, simple as that,” Clark said. “And that’s what we said last weekend too. So until the season is completely over, you know, we’ll enjoy this … but we’re always hungry for more.”

With a conference tournament title, the Hawkeyes automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament. ESPN analyst Charlie Creme projects Iowa to be a No. 3 seed in the national tournament, hosting the first two rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes will officially claim their spot in the NCAA Tournament in one week. The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show will air on March 13 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.