Iowa women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark will be remembered for her step-back game winner Tuesday night as they beat the Michigan State Spartans, 76-73 However, she spoke after the game and thrilling moment to talk about what she needs to improve on heading into the rest of the season.
There's no doubt she was electric as she scored 40 points and recording five assists to go along with having three steals. However, she had a stretch in the second half where she missed her first seven shots leading to the ultimate viral bucket at the very end. Clark made 14 of her attempted 34 shots from the field and even revealed that she subbed herself out in the second half to get a “quick breather” according to Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
“I think I kind of struggled there, got a little hot, got a little cold, especially to start the second half,” Clark said. “I subbed myself out of the game to get a quick breather. But you just come back, you've got to let it go, and you've got to respond. I think that's kind of where I've grown the most over the past few years.”
Clark talks about the close game and buzzer-beater shot
The game between the Iowa women's basketball team and the Spartans was a close one which came down to the team that can outlast the other. Iowa put themselves in a not ideal position where they scored 10 points in the second quarter, which is the fewest of any period this season according to ESPN. After the win, Clark said she was “proud” of her team for not giving up.
“A close game, they played us really well, you've got to give them credit,” Clark said. “But proud of this group. Things didn't go our way tonight but just persevered and got through, and you walk away with a win. At the end of the day nobody's really going to care what the score is as long as it's a win.”
Clark also talked about the game-winner and said that what resulted on the court Tuesday night was a play the team practices a ton. She credits teammate and Hawkeyes forward Hannah Stuelke for setting up the play beyond the three-point arch.
“We practice those plays every single day in practice,” Clark said in her postgame interview on Peacock. “That's what we run every single time, get Hannah the ball, let me create with some space. They contested it pretty well, honestly, so lucky it went down.”
The senior guard is averaging 31.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, which the scoring number is the best in the country. She is leading the No. 4 Iowa women's basketball team that is 14-1 and has not suffered a loss since Nov. 16 against Kansas State. Their next game will be on Jan. 5 when they face Rutgers.
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