‘We just came out and dominated’: Caitlin Clark scores 35 as No. 6 Hawkeyes upset No. 2 Ohio State

Caitlin Clark scored 35 points in her final regular-season home game, becoming the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday.

“I thought we just came out and dominated,” Clark told FOX Sports in a postgame interview. “Honestly, I thought we played with a lot of energy.”

Hannah Stuelke scored 23 points and Gabbie Marshall added 12 for the Hawkeyes (26-4, 15-3 Big Ten), who secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament behind the regular-season champion Buckeyes (25-4, 16-2), who had their 15-game winning streak snapped.

“I think you can say it’s a statement,” Clark said when asked what the win means heading into the conference tournament. “But more than anything, it’s just good momentum for our team going into the Big Ten Tournament. You never want to go into the Big Ten Tournament on a loss. So I think building off this is really important.”

Clark, who announced on Thursday that she would enter the WNBA draft after the season despite having another year of eligibility remaining, made two free throws with less than a second left in the first half to eclipse Pete Maravich’s 3,667 career points. Clark has 3,685 points heading into the postseason.

“Just to be in the same realm of all these players who have been so successful, whether it’s Pete or Kelsey Plum or Lynette Woodard — all these people have just given so much to the game,” Clark said. “Hopefully somebody comes after me and breaks my records and I can be there supporting them.”

The Hawkeyes were facing a similar scenario last season, when they defeated regular-season champion Indiana on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Clark. But there was no need for late drama as Iowa took control of this game in the first half.

The Hawkeyes went on an 18-3 run in the first quarter to take a 25-10 lead. Ohio State rallied in the second quarter to get within four points twice, and trailed 44-39 after Rikki Harris’ 3-pointer with seven seconds left before a wild sequence of events closed the half.

Stuelke was fouled on a layup attempt with three-tenths of a second left. McMahon was then called for a technical foul after the play for bumping Clark during the dead ball. Stuelke hit her two free throws, then Clark hit two to break Maravich’s record, and Iowa led 48-39 at halftime.

“I guess I’m just glad to make free throws,” she said. “That’s like the hardest thing to do in basketball is to make free throws with nobody (around you) at the free throw line.”

The Hawkeyes kept control in the second half, leading by as much as 17 points.

Jacy Sheldon led Ohio State with 24 points. Rebeka Mikulasilova had 14, Taylor Thierry had 11 and McMahon and Celeste Taylor each had 10 points.

“This conference is so incredible,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “Two top teams just battling it out right here in the Big Ten.”

Kate Martin added 11 points for Iowa.

BIG PICTURE

Ohio State: There were times when the Buckeyes lost their composure — besides McMahon’s technical foul. Rikki Harris got a technical foul in the second half. Four of Clark’s points came off the techs.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes might have suffered a serious loss for the postseason when guard Molly Davis was injured with 6:42 left in the first half. Davis, who has started 27 games this season and came in averaging 6.3 points per game, fell to the court and grabbed her kn ee. She was carried from the court. Davis played a key role in Iowa’s run to the national championship game last season.

UP NEXT

Ohio State: At Big Ten Tournament on Friday

Iowa: At Big Ten Tournament on Friday

For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @BlakeHornTV and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook. You can find Hawkeye Headquarters at HawkeyeHQ.com all season.

EARLIER UPDATE: Caitlin Clark stood alone at the free throw line on Sunday and made the foul shots that left her standing alone atop the all-time NCAA Division I scoring chart.

The flash and pizzazz of her game have made her the biggest name in all of college basketball. Yet it was two free throws after a technical foul that pushed Clark past the late Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State.

Clark entered the game in Iowa City needing 18 points to pass Maravich’s total of 3,667, amassed in just 83 games over three seasons at LSU (1967-70). She finished with 35 to run her total to 3,685 in 130 games.

Maravich’s mark fell four days after Clark broke Lynette Woodard’s major college women’s record with 33 points against Minnesota on Wednesday.

Best known for her long 3-pointers, Clark was called on to go to the foul line after Cotie McMahon was assessed a technical for giving her a little push during a dead ball with less than a second to go in the first half.

Clark had no immediate reaction after the second shot went through, as if it hadn’t sunk in yet.

Asked in a television interview at halftime if she was aware of the record when she stepped to the line, Clark said: “Not really. When they announced it and everybody screamed, that’s when I knew.”

Then the celebration was on, with Clark jumping around and pumping her fists in the air.

She had gotten off to a slow start Sunday. Her first shot was a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. She missed a layup and from deep on the right wing before making a 3 from the left side for her first basket.

After starting 2 for 7, she made 3 of her next 4 shots — including three straight 3s, each deeper than the previous.

Woodard was among the attendees at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to help Clark celebrate senior day. Also on hand were basketball great Maya Moore, who was Clark’s favorite player, and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

“It’s a great time for women’s basketball,” Woodard said in a television interview. “Caitlin is leading the way. As she was chipping away, I said records are made to be broken. Also, they’re made to be honored. Because of her, my records are being honored. She’s gone beyond that now, she’s gone beyond Pete … I passed her the baton to go ahead and burst through that ceiling, and I’m so happy for her.”

On Thursday, Clark announced she would enter the 2024 WNBA draft and skip the fifth year of eligibility available to athletes who competed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever, and the WNBA already is seeing a rise in ticket sales.

Logitix, which researches prices on ticket resale platforms, reported an average sale price of $598 for a ticket to Sunday’s game purchased since Feb. 1.

Kiran Nanjappa, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and now lives in Denver, said he paid more than $200 for his ticket.

“She’s a truly once-in-a-lifetime player,” he said. “I’ve been watching Iowa basketball for 40 years, and I’ve never seen a player like her, men’s or women’s. I’ll just say this — I paid more to see her today than I paid to see Michael Jordan three times at the end of his career. And I never thought I’d say that.”

Clark is all but assured of one or two more appearances at the arena in Iowa City. Iowa is projected to be a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament, meaning it would be at home for the first two rounds.

Pearl Moore of Francis Marion owns the overall women’s record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.

Clark is 376 points behind Moore, and she has only two to nine more games left in an Iowa uniform depending on how far the Hawkeyes advance in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

The fall of Maravich’s record is subject to scrutiny.

Maravich’s all-time scoring mark is one of the more remarkable in sports history. There was no shot clock or 3-point line in his era. The 3-point line was adopted in 1986.

Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He scored more than 60 in a game four times, topping out at 69 against Alabama on Feb. 7, 1970.

Clark averages 28.3 points for her career. Her career-best output was 49 points against Michigan on Feb. 15, when she passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women’s Division I career scoring leader.

Clark has 55 games with at least 30 points, the most of any player in men’s or women’s college basketball over the last 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.

“What Caitlin’s done has been amazing. She’s fantastic player, great for the women’s game and basketball in general,” Maravich’s eldest son, Jaeson, told The Associated Press last week.

— Eric Olson, AP Sports Writer

For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @BlakeHornTV and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook. You can find Hawkeye Headquarters at HawkeyeHQ.com all season.

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