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Caitlin Clark buries buzzer beater step-back 3 to beat Michigan State, completes 40-point outing

On3 imageby: Andrew Graham01/03/24AndrewEdGraham
Syndication: Iowa City Press-Citizen
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Caitlin Clark delivered a highlight ending to cap another win for Iowa on Tuesday night, burying a step-back logo buzzer beater in the dying seconds of a dead even game against Michigan State. And the game-winning 3 gave Clark a cool 40 points on the night.

With the Spartans and Hawkeyes knotted at 73 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa had the ball and a chance to take the last shot. It was obvious Clark would be the main option, and even though the Michigan State defense forced a deep look at the very end of the clock, it was to no avail.

And while the shot was close to not counting — the NBC clock on the scorebug was ahead of the game clock — the wide-view of the shot shows the ball clearing Clark’s fingers with 0.1 left on the game clock.

Clark and the Hawkeyes move to 14-1 and 3-0 in conference play with the win. Clark finished with 40 points, five assists and a rebound in 37 minutes on the floor. She made eight of Iowa’s nine 3 pointers in the game on Tuesday night.

Clark recently discussed the decision between sticking in college vs. leaving for the WNBA

Clark has a decision to make after this season. The Iowa star can declare for the WNBA Draft, or she can return for one final season in Iowa City thanks to the blanket Covid-19 waiver.

It seems like a no-brainer. After all, Clark is the projected No. 1 overall pick. It’s not that simple, though, as she told legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on SiriusXM’s Basketball and Beyond.

In fact, Clark said she doesn’t think either move would be the wrong one. That’s why she’s not rushing to make a call.

“It’s a hard decision because in my eyes, it’s like a win-win,” Clark said. “I can go and kind of live out a lifelong dream or I can stay here and be in college, start working on my master’s or start working on another degree and still play college basketball with some of my best friends. That’s what almost makes it so hard is both seem so amazing.

“But yeah, it’s cool. Obviously, Covid has allowed me the opportunity to even have this choice. But yeah, I’m just trying to live in the moment. It’s a big decision and I try not to get too stressed out about it.”