The No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball team squeezed by a powerful Michigan State Spartans team, 76-73, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night — with a buzzer-beating three from Caitlin Clark.

The Hawkeyes tonight returned to their usual starting lineup they’ve used this season, guards Molly Davis and Gabbie Marshall supporting Clark and guard Kate Martin and forward Hannah Stuelke.

Clark finished the game with 40 points on 14-of-34 from the field and 8-of-20 from deep, capped off by a logo three at the horn to win the game and extend the Hawkeyes’ win streak to 11.

The Spartans — the third-highest scoring offense in Division I women’s basketball — got out to a quick 8-0 lead early on, pushing the pace in transition and taking advantage of two Clark turnovers.

But the Hawkeyes got some fuel from the Carver crowd on a 12-0 run to respond, capped off by a beautiful Clark pass for a Martin layup and a massive three from Marshall to force a Spartan timeout.

Iowa started to show a zone defense toward the end of the quarter as the Michigan State defense often collapsed on Stuelke when she got touches down low, but a pair of Hawkeye steals for transition layups put the Black and Gold up eight at 25-17 moving into the second.

Three costly Iowa turnovers to open the second quarter kept Michigan State within arm’s length — until Clark took over. A pair of deep threes and a smooth pass to guard Sydney Affolter put the Hawkeyes up nine moving toward the halfway mark of the quarter.

But the Spartans did not go away, attacking the Hawkeye defense with aggression and capitalizing on its exhaustion for a 37-35 lead going into halftime.

Nail-biting back-and-forth

The Spartans and Hawkeyes went back and forth to open the second half, the offensive efficiency slowing down as both teams got scrappy and physical on their respective defensive ends.

Michigan State’s consistent attack into the paint helped the Spartans pull ahead to a small lead for much of that third quarter. But with Hawkeye fans on their feet, Clark hit a pullback three for her 100th-career 20-point game and a one-point deficit to the Spartans.

And another Clark catch-and-shoot three from the left corner tied Iowa and Michigan State at 55 apiece for the final quarter of play.

The Hawkeyes remained strong on the offensive end as they attacked the Spartans’ physicality down low to open the fourth, but another Clark deep ball put Iowa up seven as the game got a bit chippy on the other end.

But with another Clark turnover — her sixth of the night — the Spartans converted it into a three to shrink the Hawkeyes’ lead to one, but Clark got one back with another three before Michigan State responded to tie the game at 71.

A huge Clark block that quite literally punched the ball into the floor made for an Iowa timeout with 30 seconds left, and a pair of Davis free throws put Iowa up two more before Michigan State yet again responded to tie the game.

With 20 seconds left, Stuelke found Clark at the top of the key, who took one dribble left, stepped back deep behind the three-point arc to the logo, and drilled it for game. Onions. Hawks win.

Up next

The Hawkeyes will next take a plane ride across the country to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a contest with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday.

The Scarlet Knights are 6-10 this season, falling to Purdue in a heartbreaking 77-76 loss on Tuesday night.