Clark puts up 28 points, 15 assists for No. 3 Iowa in 95-68 romp past Michigan in Big Ten semifinals
MINNEAPOLIS >> Caitlin Clark had 28 points to pad her all-time NCAA scoring total and matched a season high with 15 assists to lead third-ranked Iowa past Michigan 95-68 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Hannah Stuelke scored 16 points, Kate Martin added 13 and Sydney Affolter had the best allaround game with 12 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals as the Hawkeyes (28-4) moved within one win of a third straight conference tournament title.
Iowa will play Nebraska for the championship on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Huskers beat eighthseeded Maryland on Saturday to reach the final for the first time in 10 years.
With fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall again spearheading the effort, the Hawkeyes were locked in and maxed out on defense. They quieted first team All-big Ten pick
Laila Phelia for most of the game after her season-high 30 points fueled an upset of 12th-ranked Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Phelia had 21 points and seven assists, Jordan Hobbs scored 14 points and Lauren Hansen added 13 points for the Wolverines (20-13) went just 12 for 38 on 2-point shots. Michigan made its first seven 3-pointers and after its first miss from deep midway through the second quarter already trailed 39-30.
The Hawkeyes ran up a 54-16 points-in-the-paint advantage, founded by all the layups they set up with their season-high-tying 30 assists, and hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to finish it off and delight the Iowa-dominated sellout crowd that has flocked to see Clark and friends everywhere they play.
After missing 12 of 14 tries from deep in the 95-62 quarterfinal defeat of Penn State, when she still became the all-time NCAA leader in 3-pointers made, Clark downshifted her outside shooting a bit and let her inner point guard loose throughout the first half.
Whether with onehanded stretch passes bouncing across the court to hit her teammates in stride on the break or with a quick flick to feed a backdoor cut, Clark’s distribution game was in high gear.
She hit a 3-pointer early in the second quarter during a 9-0 run that gave the Hawkeyes the lead for good, then zipped a behind-the-back pass to Affolter for a 3-pointer off a break started by Martin’s steal on the next possession.
The sixth-seeded Wolverines likely secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament by beating third-seeded Indiana. ESPN’S projections pegged Michigan as one of the last four at-large teams to avoid the play-in games, but a headline win like this sure wouldn’t have hurt.
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/ hub/ap-top-25-womenscollege-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/ hub/womens-college-basketball