Caitlin Clark units 3-point document as Iowa wins in Large Ten tourney

MINNEAPOLIS — Friday was a tough 3-point taking pictures recreation for Iowa star Caitlin Clark, however she has had a fantastic profession from lengthy vary total.

Within the No. 2 seed Hawkeyes’ 95-62 victory over No. 7 Penn State within the Large Ten event quarterfinals, Clark’s two 3-pointers gave her 164, probably the most ever in a season by a Division I participant (girls or males).

Clark handed Stephen Curry, who had 162 3-pointers at Davidson in 2007-08, and Darius McGhee, who had 162 final season for Liberty. Each Curry and McGhee did so in 36 video games; Clark has performed in 31 to date for the 27-4 Hawkeyes.

It marked one other document in a season stuffed with them for Clark.

In Iowa’s last recreation of the common season Sunday, she handed LSU’s Pete Maravich for many profession factors scored by a D-I participant. On Friday, she reached the 3-point mark regardless of certainly one of her least-memorable video games taking pictures.

Clark missed 11 makes an attempt from behind the arc earlier than making her first with 8:41 left within the recreation. She held up her arms in mock celebration after that 3, drawing a giant ovation from the sellout crowd of principally Hawkeyes followers at Goal Middle.

“I used to be trolling and messing round once I made that,” Clark mentioned. “You have to have some enjoyable. Typically it is arduous to stand up there and shoot the subsequent one, however perhaps that is my poison typically. I am simply going to launch it. That is simply how it should be. I used to be going to make one earlier than the buzzer hit zero, even when it took 20 of them.”

Clark has been held with no 3-pointer solely as soon as in her Iowa profession: She went 0-for-6 from behind the arc in a victory vs. Purdue on Jan. 13, 2022, when she was a sophomore.

For her profession, Clark has 511 3-pointers. The NCAA girls’s profession document was set by Oklahoma’s Taylor Robertson final season with 537, though that was her fifth season due to the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21. Clark is in her fourth season, which might be her final, as she beforehand introduced she’ll enter the WNBA draft.

Regardless of her taking pictures woes — she completed 5-of-19 total and 2-of-14 from behind the arc — Clark nonetheless led the Hawkeyes in scoring (24 factors), rebounding (10) and assists (7). Her teammates had been a mixed 13-of-30 from behind the arc.

“I do not suppose I’ve ever seen her miss 11 3s in a row, and that would in all probability embrace apply and every thing else,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder mentioned. “I am actually happy with her for the way in which she dealt with that.

“I feel that is one of the best factor for us is to have a recreation like this as a result of now these guys all have nice confidence. They’ve extra perception in themselves and one another. If Caitlin has a nasty night time [shooting], OK, we are able to nonetheless survive that.”

Clark additionally tied former Ohio State star Kelsey Mitchell for many profession factors scored within the Large Ten event, with 265. Clark will look to interrupt that document in Saturday’s semifinal in opposition to Michigan.