Attention turns to her final NCAA run

MINNEAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark will never forget winning her third straight Big Ten championship. Now, preparation begins for the tournament everyone else will remember.

One year after leading Iowa to its first national championship game appearance, the most decorated individual in college basketball will make her final pursuit of the achievement she covets most.

“It never gets old cutting any net,” Clark said after Iowa’s overtime win against Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament title game. “I feel like we’re pretty good at that now. Hopefully we get to do it a few more times here coming up in late March.

“I think our group knows well enough that the NCAA Tournament is the best postseason tournament in all of sports. If you don’t have it for one night, your season’s over in the blink of an eye. We’re really only guaranteed one more game as a team, so you’ve got to come in and prepare every single day like it’s your last. I know this team will do that.”

Last year, Clark set NCAA Tournament records for most points scored (191) and most 3-pointers made (24), as Iowa reached its first Final Four in three decades, as a 2-seed.

This year, the Hawkeyes (29-4) look like a lock to claim a 1-seed for the first time in 31 years. Iowa will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament on its campus, beginning March 22 or 23.

“Honestly, whether they give us the 1-seed or give us the 2-seed, I don’t think it really matters a ton,” Clark said. “You’re more kind of concerned on the draw you get. I feel like that’s almost more important. But it’s whatever the committee decides. You have no say in that. You get what you get, and you’d better be ready to come out and fight every single night.

“We just want to keep having fun with each other and enjoying these moments. We know how long and how hard it is to get to the Final Four, but how much fun it is at the same time. So I think having that experience under our belt is going to certainly help us too.”