For the third consecutive season, Iowa women’s basketball has won the Big Ten Tournament.
The No. 3 Hawkeyes (29-4, 15-3 Big Ten) nearly fell short of a three-peat, as they were down 46-35 at halftime to Nebraska on Sunday. However, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, Caitlin Clark, scored 30 of her 34 points in the second half to lead Iowa to a 94-89 overtime win.
“I’m so proud of our perseverance,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said in a postgame interview with CBS Sports. “We didn’t play very well in the first half. We just kept believing and I thought we played much better.”
Clark shot an uncharacteristic 2-of-13 in the first half but was able to finish the game 12-of-29 shooting with 34 points with seven rebounds and 12 assists. She also received her third consecutive Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honor.
Clark and Bluder both appeared in a postgame interview with CBS Sports directly after the conclusion of Iowa’s win. Here’s the full interview:
Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder interview after Iowa Big Ten championship win
Here’s the full video of Caitlin Clark and Lisa Bluder’s interview after Iowa’s Big Ten championship win over Nebraska on Sunday:
“I think our first half obviously wasn’t very good across the board, for myself included,” Clark said of the Hawkeyes’ resilience. “You really have no choice but to figure it out at halftime, and really respond. And that’s exactly what we did. And even being down seven with two minutes to play we never gave up. And this is definitely the hardest one. That’s three in a row. But this is by far the hardest.”
Clark went on to praise the Iowa faithful.
“I’m just so proud of our group, so resilient,” Clark continued. “And these fans are incredible. If it wasn’t for them I don’t know if we win. So, just proud of us.”
The theme of the interview was the Hawkeyes’ never-say-die attitude.
“Nebraska put up a really great fight,” she added. “I just thought we always responded and always had an answer for them. And it’s just special. I’m just really proud of our group.”
Clark and Hawkeyes will almost certainly be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, as they look to do the one thing Clark hasn’t done in her career: Win a national championship.
