Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark checked off another item on the to-do list for the Hawkeyes this season. Iowa women's basketball went back-to-back-to-back as Big Ten Champions this season. It was a tough game against Nebraska that ended up going into overtime late. Clark secured the lead with a three with under a minute to go in overtime, and Nebraska never took the lead again.
The Dagger 🗡
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 11, 2024
30 of @CaitlinClark22's 34 points came in the second half and overtime.
She finished the game with 34 points, 12 assists & 7 rebounds. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Gn5kQ9XcCj
However, even though Clark hit that three, and it was her fifth of the game, she shot 17 during the championship, bringing her three-point field goal percentage for the game to 29,4 percent, well under her season average. This was not the only game during the Big Ten Tournament however that Clark went cold from three.
Clark is known for her crazy long-shot logo three-pointers, and while she is still hitting them from time to time, her three-point field goal percentage was not great in the Big Ten Tournament.
In the first game against Penn State, Clark only had 24 points, well below her season average, and missed her first 11 three-point shots from the field before hitting one in the fourth quarter. Clark also struggled from the floor, only scoring from the free three-line until the second quarter.
Clark shot 2 for 14 from beyond the arc finishing the game shooting 14.3 percent from three against Penn State. Things did not get much better in the game against Michigan for Clark. She shot less three, only making 4 out of 11, shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range, better than the game before, but still below her season average.
The end of the Big Ten Tournament probably came at just the right time for Clark and the Hawkeyes. This team will have a week to ten days before they have to play their next game, giving this team time to rest and regroup before the biggest games of the season. It also happened to be spring break for Iowa, so that is extra time to yes practice, but also take time to rest.
The Hawkeyes played a long physical game against Ohio State a little over a week ago and then turned around and played three games in three days. It makes sense that Clark could be tired, or could just be struggling with her three-point shot at the moment.
The good news is that she has plenty of time to figure it out before she plays again. The bad news is that she has almost too much time to figure it out. Sometimes the best thing for a player to do is to continue playing and shooting till you start to get hot. With so much time between games, Clark will want to make sure she gets her fair share of three-point shots up in the gym.
The Hawkeyes need Clark at her best for the NCAA Tournament if they want to make it back to the National Championship and this win it all. Her best includes those signature logo threes, which force defenses to stretch the floor, opening up shots for her teammates as well.