Clark’s ‘mind-boggling’ 41-point triple double sends Iowa into women’s Final Four
Caitlin Clark put on quite a show, with one of the greatest performances in NCAA Tournament history to help Iowa end a 30-year Final Four drought.
She had 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the No 2 seed Hawkeyes to a 97-83 win over fifth-seeded Louisville on Sunday night and send the team to their first women’s Final Four in since 1993. They will meet the winner of South Carolina v Maryland, who play each other on Monday night.
“I dreamed of this moment as a little girl, to take a team to the Final Four and be in these moments and have confetti fall down on me,” said Clark, who is a Iowa native.
And all you’ve got to do is believe and work your butt off to get there. That’s what I did, and that’s what our girls did and that’s what our coaches did and we’re going to Dallas, baby.”
Clark had the 11th triple-double of her career and the 19th in NCAA Tournament history. She had the first 30- and 40-point triple-double in March Madness history.
“It’s like a storybook, been like that all year long,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “We keep talking about destiny and how it’s supposed to happen. ... She’s spectacular. I don’t know how else to describe what she does on the basketball court. A 40-point triple-double against Louisville to go to the Final Four. Are you kidding me? That’s mind-boggling.”
Trailing by five at the half, Louisville cut their deficit to 48-47 before Clark and the Hawkeyes scored the next 11 points as part of a 17-6 run to blow the game open. That brought most of the pro-Iowa crowd of nearly 12,000 fans to their feet.
Louisville were down 22 with just under six minutes left before going on a 13-1 run to get within 86-76 with 2:10 left. The Cardinals could get no closer.
Clark left the game with