Cailtin Clark, Lisa Bluder explain Iowa's 2nd half, OT push to 3-peat as Big Ten Tournament champions
Iowa trailed for most of Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament title game vs. Nebraska, but rallied in the second half to eventually force overtime, where they got huge plays from their senior class to seal the deal and win their third straight league tournament.
Caitlin Clark was phenomenal as she always is, and really heated up in the second half offensively. Then, in overtime, it was Clark who made huge baskets and then picked off a pass from Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley with just over 30 seconds to play an Iowa already up a bucket. Clark was fouled and sent to the line, where she sunk two free throws to make it a four-point margin.
On the next Nebraska possession, a Husker attempted to launch a 3-point shot but was rejected by Gabbie Marshall, who collected the ball called the timeout before she and Clark let out some screams of glory. Take a look at that defensive highlight:
A few possessions and a handful of free throws later, with Iowa up five points, Gabbie Marshall blocked pass and Caitlin Clark got a final steal to end the ballgame.
After the game, Clark spoke with sideline reporter AJ Ross on the whirlwind final eight minutes to the game.
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She said the first half simply wasn’t good enough “across the board” and said the team had no choice but to figure it out at halftime and respond with a strong second half. “We never gave up. Proud of us.”
As she gave that answer, Clark was presented with the Most Outstanding Player award, and Ross asked if this on means more than the rest since it’s her last.
“You know, it’s really special. It’s really hard to get to this spot and Nebraska put up a really great fight, but thought we always responded and always had an answer for them. You know, it’s just special,” she answered. “I’m really proud of our group.”