March Madness: Caitlin Clark shines with 41 POINTS as Iowa beats Louisville to seal Final Four spot
Caitlin Clark shines with 41 POINTS as Iowa seals first women’s berth in March Madness Final Four in 30 years with victory over fifth seed Louisville
Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83 on Sunday and send the Hawkeyes to their first-ever women’s Final Four. in 30 years.
The unanimous first-team All-American was as dominant as she has been all season in leading the Hawkeyes to Dallas for the national semifinals of the Women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday night. Region 4 champion Seattle will take on region 1 winner Greenville which has South Carolina playing Maryland on Monday night.
Iowa (30-6) hadn’t been to the Final Four since Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer led the team to its only appearance in 1993. Prior to Sunday, the team had only been to one other Elite Eight, in 2019. from the Final Four team.
Clark had the 11th triple-double of his career and the 19th in NCAA Tournament history. He had the first triple-double of 30 and 40 points in March Madness history.
Trailing by five at the half, Louisville cut its deficit to 48-47 before Clark and the Hawkeyes scored their next 11 points as part of a 17-6 run to open the game. That brought most of the pro-Iowa crowd of nearly 12,000 fans to their feet.
Iowa Hawkeyes players celebrate with their trophy after reserving a spot in the Final Four
Caitlin Clark put on an incredible display, scoring 41 points to help her team win 97-83
Clark celebrates in the locker room at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington
Louisville trailed 22 with just under 6 minutes before going on a 13-1 run to move up 86-76 with 2:10 remaining. The Cardinals couldn’t get close.
Clark left the game with 22.7 seconds left and hugged coach Lisa Bluder.
Hailey Van Lith scored 27 points and Olivia Cochran had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Louisville (26-12).
Clark made eight of the Hawkeyes’ 16 3-pointers of the season, including some right after the March Madness logo. It was a school record for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament, surpassing the previous mark of 13 against Gonzaga in 2011.
Louisville scored the first eight points of the game, forcing Iowa to call a timeout. Then Clark started up. The 6-foot junior scored the first seven points for the Hawkeyes and finished the first quarter with 15 points. When he wasn’t scoring, he found open teammates with precision passes.
He also had four assists in the first 10 minutes, accounting for every one of Iowa’s points as the Hawkeyes led 25-21.
Head coach Lisa Bluder poses for a photo with her star player Clark after the game.
The Hawkeyes haven’t been to the Final Four in 30 years, but they will return next weekend
Clark continued his dominance in the second quarter, hitting shots from across the court, including some of his famous long-range 3-pointers near the logo.
Louisville was able to stay in the game thanks to Van Lith. After scoring the first six points of the game, she went quiet before arriving late into the second quarter. He scored 11 points in the second quarter as the Cardinals trailed 48-43 at halftime.
Clark had 22 points and eight assists in the first 20 minutes en route to the fourth-highest scoring total of all time in an NCAA regional.