WOMENS BASKETBALL
Iowa 92, Nebraska 73
JOHN BOHNENKAMP
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Caitlin Clark had 38 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead No. 5 Iowa over Nebraska 92-73.
Clark, the nation’s leading scorer at 31.7 points per game, had the 53rd double-double of her career. She was 12 of 22 from the field, including 8 of 15 on 3-pointers.
Kate Martin had 16 points and Sydney Affolter added 12 points for Iowa (19-2, 8-1 Big Ten). The Hawkeyes, who had their 15-game winning streak snapped in last Sunday’s overtime loss at Ohio State, pulled away in the second half after struggling to make shots in the first half.
Nebraska (13-7, 5-4) made just one of its first 11 shots to open the game, but the Huskers took advantage of cold shooting by the Hawkeyes to take a 31-27 lead late in the first half. Iowa, which started the game with a 9-0 run, went five minutes without a field goal in the first quarter.
But the Hawkeyes led 36-31 at halftime after a 9-0 run over the final 1:35 of the half, capped by a deep Clark 3-pointer with two seconds left.
Iowa kept that momentum into the third quarter, shooting 71.4% from the field while leading by as much as 19 points in the quarter.
Jaz Shelley had 19 points to lead Nebraska. Alexis Markowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Callin Hake had 11 points.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: The Huskers couldn’t take advantage of Iowa’s early struggles, because they struggled themselves. Shelley and Markowski provided most of the offense, and Nebraska was able to outrebound the Hawkeyes. Markowski had her Big Ten-leading 13th double-double, but Shelley had to be helped from the court late in the game after suffering an ankle injury.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes shook off the Ohio State defeat to stay at the top of the Big Ten standings. Clark and her teammates started slow, but the run late in the first half and in the third quarter woke them up. Iowa has a nine-game winning streak over Nebraska.
January 27, 2024
