Caitlin Clark breaks Big Ten triple-double record as Iowa women’s basketball blows out Wisconsin
The No. 10 Hawkeyes bounced back from a pair of losses with a 102-71 victory over the Badgers.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark brings the ball down the court during a women’s basketball game between Iowa and Belmont at Carver Hawkeyes Arena in Iowa City on Sunday Nov. 20, 2022. The Hawkeyes defeated the Bruins, 73-62.
December 4, 2022
Iowa women’s basketball junior guard Caitlin Clark earned her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record on Sunday.
The West Des Moines native put up 22 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes and 45 seconds to help Iowa to a 102-71 win over Wisconsin. Former Hawkeye Sam Logic previously held the conference’s triple-double record with six.
The performance also moved Clark to 1,915 career points — fourth in Iowa women’s basketball history.
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“For Caitlin to have the record for the most triple-doubles in Big Ten history is absolutely incredible,” head coach Lisa Bluder said on the Hawkeye Radio postgame show. “Really proud of her for that. She could have done anything she wanted out there.”
Bluder said Clark did a great job controlling the tempo and executing the game plan. While Clark could have gone to the rim every time, Bluder said, she also got her teammates involved.
Big Picture
The game acted as a resurgence for the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes, who were coming off back-to-back losses.
“We finally played Iowa basketball, and it feels like we just played a well-executed game,” Bluder said.
At a Nov. 30 press conference, Bluder said she needed to get substitutes and underclassmen more early minutes in games, and she did just that on Sunday. Iowa’s bench put up 39 points — 30 more than it scored against NC State on Thursday.
Sophomore Sydney Affolter — who hadn’t played more than 10 minutes since Nov. 10 — put in 13 minutes and played the entirety of the second quarter. Freshman Hannah Stuelke played 12 minutes, seven of which came in the first half. Senior guard Molly Davis played 23 minutes.
Czinano’s resurgence
Fifth-year senior Monika Czinano shot 9-for-10 from the floor for 18 points and eight rebounds.
The center had scored fewer than 10 points in three of the four games leading up to Sunday.
Warnock, Davis knock down shots
Senior forward McKenna Warnock and Davis also had good days, scoring 13 points apiece. Eleven of Warnock’s points came in the first quarter, in which she and Clark combined for 23.
Bluder said Warnock’s first-quarter performance got the Hawkeyes going, as the junior went 3-for-3 from the arc.
Davis, on the other hand, shot 5-for-5 from the floor, making three 3-pointers.
“My teammates were putting me in positions to be successful, and so I was just kind of letting it flow,” Davis said.
What’s next
No. 10 Iowa will take on No. 8 Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday. Iowa State’s only loss so far this season came against No. 6 North Carolina, 64-73, on Nov. 27.
