ALBANY, N.Y. — Caitlin Clark was in true form in Iowa’s win over Colorado in the Sweet 16.
The star guard scored 29 points, tied her season-high with 15 assists, and grabbed six boards to aid the Hawkeyes to their second straight Elite Eight appearance. It was the 66th career triple-double for Clark, who is the only player in the country with 1,100-plus points, 300-plus assists, and 240-plus rebounds this season.
Heading into Saturday’s matchup, Colorado players and head coach JR Payne knew Clark “would get hers.” They weren’t focused on stopping Clark from scoring completely but instead making her work hard for every point, especially from beyond the arc. Clark, known for her logo treys, recently broke the NCAA Division I record for 3-pointers in a season during Iowa’s Big Ten quarterfinal win over Penn State.
Colorado limited the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer to 3-of-11 from downtown, but one triple was all Clark needed to keep her streak of 92 consecutive games with a 3-point basket alive.
The Buffaloes’ extra emphasis on Clark’s lethality from deep hurt them in the end, as she eased her way into the paint throughout the game and only missed one two-point shot.
“When we sent our first couple of small screens, they were playing drop coverage. Their big was just staying in the paint, so I knew either Hannah was going to be open on the roll, or I was going to be able to get pretty easy layups,” Clark said. “I didn’t shoot as great from three, but I thought my penetration to the basket was really good.”
Jaylyn Sherrod, who was in charge of guarding No. 22, said the fact that Clark can shoot from anywhere makes her difficult to defend. Sherrod looked at the positives from her defensive performance, pointing out that Clark scored two points below her season average.
“Man, we locked her up,” Payne chimed in as she and Sherrod started laughing.
While Payne said the guard’s scoring ability “in and of itself is pretty incredible,” it is Clark’s skill to find open teammates and pass the ball with precision that makes her game “deadly.”
All but five of Iowa’s assists were from Clark, who also committed just two turnovers despite Colorado’s consistent ball pressure. The other four Hawkeye starters capitalized off the attention on Clark, each scoring in double figures as Iowa shot 53.8 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range.
“The hard piece is that she got everyone else involved,” Sherrod said. “So, I mean, it just speaks to the type of player she is, you know. She’s unselfish, and she got everybody else going. So that’s just tough when everybody else is hitting too.”
Clark continues to not be phased by the outside noise, like getting a $5 million offer from Ice Cube or making the USA Basketball training camp roster this week. She’s averaging 29.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 9.3 assists in Iowa’s last three contests, which includes a 91-65 beatdown of Holy Cross and a narrow 64-54 win against a suffocating defensive West Virginia squad.
The 22-year-old said her mindset coming into Saturday’s Sweet 16 game was to let her “work shine” and “go have a blast.”
“I think when I step on the court a calming presence comes over me, like, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be,'” Clark said.
