The sixth-ranked Iowa women’s basketball team edged the second-ranked Indiana Hoosiers behind junior guard Caitlin Clark’s buzzer-beater 3-pointer on Sunday.

With 1.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Clark came off a down screen, caught the inbounds pass at the wing, and drilled the three at the buzzer to take down the Big Ten regular-season champion Hoosiers in the last game of the regular season. The Hawkeyes won, 86-85, in front of a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

On a buzzer beater 3-pointer, Caitlin Clark puts the Hawkeyes over the Hoosiers, 86-85.

Iowa beat the Big Ten regular season champs and will finish second in the conference standings. pic.twitter.com/BtJi9KCeHV

— chloe peterson (@chloepeterson67) February 26, 2023

“We’ve worked on that play a lot, and, to be honest, I’ve made it a few times in practice, so that certainly helps too,” Clark said. “I’m all about growing the women’s game, and I’m glad I gave something little girls can probably scream about at the top of their lungs.”

Clark finished the game with 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting from the field, 4-for-12 from three, and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Senior guard Kate Martin, who announced Feb. 20 she would be joining fellow senior guard Gabbie Marshall in returning for the 2023-2024 season, was consistent the whole game. She scored 19 points on 6-for-9 from the field, 3-for-4 from deep, and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. She added four assists to the performance.

Fifth-year senior Monika Czinano was quiet for the first three quarters but awakened in the fourth for strong post play and nine points. She finished with 13 points on 4-for-8 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and grabbed nine rebounds.

Strong starts

The Hawkeyes opened strong on a 10-2 run, leading to a quick timeout from Indiana two minutes in. They went into the second quarter with a 23-18 lead behind Clark and Martin’s eight points each, both on 3-for-5 shooting from the field.

“We came out, [and] we made a statement early on the offensive side of things and really, quite honestly, the defensive side of things too,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “Hitting those shots early, I think it was an awakening for Indiana that we’re here.”

The hot hands cooled slightly in the second quarter with a scrappy Indiana defense collapsing when the ball reached the paint, but Clark and Martin added eight and five for 16 and 13 in the half, respectively.

Clark returned to her assisting ways, notching six in the first half, including a leading pass to Marshall for a transition layup and another over the heads of the defense for a layup from senior McKenna Warnock.

The Hawkeyes began the third quarter with a 40-39 lead and opened again on an 11-3 run, but the Hoosiers responded with a 6-0 run of their own before a Clark and-one layup and Martin corner three. They had 11 and 5, respectively, in the quarter, and the Hawks went into the fourth with a 61-58 lead.

Marshall led the Hawkeyes in the fourth quarter, hitting two 3-pointers and forcing two turnovers in the backcourt. The Hoosiers kept the game tied going into the final minutes of the game, and a Czinano foul put them at the free-throw line where they took a two-point lead before Clark’s buzzer-beater sealed the game.

“We told the team we can’t be the Big Ten champs, but we can beat the Big Ten champs,” Bluder said. “And that’s what we wanted to do today.”

One of three

ESPN College GameDay broadcasted from Carver-Hawkeye Arena from 10-11 a.m., making Iowa one of three schools to host the show this season — the first time in Iowa men’s or women’s basketball history. The game was aired nationally on ESPN.

“It’s just a part of our story,” Bluder said. “It’s what you dream about … so [I’m] very thankful.”

Czinano and Warnock were recognized after the game as a part of Senior Day.

“I feel really lucky to have played through arguably the most influential time in women’s basketball,” Czinano said. “This is my home away from home … It’s wild. I haven’t even really been able to put it into words quite yet.”

Up next

The Hawkeyes will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Big Ten Championship tournament beginning Wednesday. 

Iowa will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and play on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

“You have to flip a switch when tournament time comes; the regular season doesn’t really matter anymore,” Czinano said. “It’s a really grueling, competitive … stretch, so [it’s] just mentally getting as ready as you can at that point in the season … We’ve had so much experience in that situation that I’m really excited to be able to go up there.”

Iowa finished the regular season tied for second in the Big Ten with a 15-3 record in conference play and 23-6 record overall.