Iowa's Caitlin Clark named AP women's Player of the Year

DALLAS — Caitlin Clark has put together one of the greatest individual seasons in NCAA history with eye-popping offensive numbers.

Iowa's junior guard, though, saved her best performance for the game's biggest stage, recording the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history to get Iowa to the Final Four for the first time in 30 years.

Clark was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women's basketball Player of the Year. She received 20 votes from the 28-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Voting was done before the NCAA tournament began.

«It's a huge honor,» Clark said. «I picked a place that I perfectly fit into and that's allowed me to show my skill set. I'd be lying if I said it didn't mean something. It's not the reason you play basketball, it's just something that comes along with getting to do what you love.»

The Iowa coaching staff surprised Clark by sharing that she won the award while they were visiting the Iowa Children's Hospital — a place near and dear to her. It also has huge ties to the Hawkeyes' athletic department.

They put together a video of some of the children in the hospital congratulating Clark on an outstanding season, and in the middle of it, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder popped on the screen to tell her she won.

«I'm there for inspiring the next generation and being there for the people that you know are going through a hard time,» said Clark, who grew up in Iowa. «Being able to give joy to people that watch you play and watch your team play is amazing.»

She averaged 27.0 points, 8.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds during the season to help Iowa go 26-6. Clark has 984 points, the sixth-most in a season by any player in Division I women's history. She also has over 300