CLEVELAND — The ovations for Caitlin Clark began as soon as she ran onto the field at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to warm up. They continued with the pregame introductions, when the sound of Clark’s name, unsurprisingly, received the loudest roar of any player.
Facing UConn in the national semifinals, Clark scored on Iowa’s first possession. Perhaps a masterclass, similar to the one Clark put on against LSU with nine 3-pointers, would follow? Instead, Clark went the next 14 minutes without scoring another basket.
Clark’s prolific performances became commonplace throughout his final collegiate season and final NCAA tournament appearance. After beating the Tigers in the Elite Eight, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said she was at a loss for words to describe Clark’s greatness.
Friday night, however, Clark wasn’t at his best. In the first 20 minutes, she missed all six of her 3-point attempts. At halftime, Iowa looked to be in trouble, trailing 32-26. She made exactly as many field goals (three) as turnovers and returned to the locker room with only 6 points.
Instead of letting her nightly shooting derail her and end her career with the Hawkeyes, she remained steady. Very often, Clark’s shooting prowess stands out with scoring bursts into the 40s. Against UConn with a national title berth on the line, her 15 second-half points were as important as any she never scored.
It was Clark’s emotional growth that paid off, lifting Iowa to a 71-69 victory to return to Sunday’s championship against undefeated South Carolina.
“I think that’s the biggest way I’ve grown in the last four years,” Clark said. “That’s what I tell people I’m most proud of, the way I changed my mind.”
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Caitlin Clark didn’t have to be perfect to reach the title match. She just needed to be calm