Clark scores 30, leads Iowa through Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — No opponent brings out the best in Caitlin Clark more than Nebraska.

The Iowa star scored 30 points, Monika Czinano added 20 and the seventh-ranked Hawkeyes pulled away in the second half for an 80-60 win over the Cornhuskers on Saturday.

Clark has never had fewer than 30 in any of her seven games against Nebraska, and she and Czinano led the way again in Iowa's eighth straight win in the series.

The game drew a Nebraska record crowd of 14,289, with many in the building to see a national player of the year candidate in Clark.

“I like coming here,” Clark said. “I think they support women's basketball well here and I love playing in front of a big crowd. I have a lot of family from the state of Nebraska who are always here supporting us. We play them pretty well every time.”

The Hawkeyes (22-5, 14-2) moved a game behind Big Ten-leading Indiana with two regular-season games left.

Jaz Shelley had 19 points and nine rebounds and Alexis Markowski had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Cornhuskers (14-13, 6-10), who lost their fourth straight.

Clark and Czinano combined for 15 of the Hawkeyes' 21 points in the third quarter, when they stretched their 40-33 halftime lead to 61-47.

“Teams really have to pick their poison when they play us,” Czinano said. “They can focus on playing the post and maybe my points are limited, but my teammates are so open for shots or vice versa. Throughout the whole game they were kind of picking and choosing which one they wanted to do, and we were doing a good job of realizing that and reading it.”

Clark's layup midway through the fourth quarter gave her 30 points, then she took a seat for the rest of the game while her teammates built the lead to as many as 29 points.

Clark also had five rebounds and eight assists, with five leading to baskets by Czinano. Clark leads the country with 14 games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.

In her seven games against Nebraska, Clark is averaging 34.3 points, 7.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds. She's shooting 41.6% on 3-pointers (27 of 65) after making 4 of 10 on Saturday.