After a challenging first half, Caitlin Clark battles again to lead Iowa to the Big Ten title in an amazing shootout victory over Nebraska.

Angrily, Caitlin Clark held out her arms.

Her initial nine 3-point attempts had been missed. Her four first-half points were a season low. She made seven mistakes. In overtime, she missed a crucial free throw.

She raised her fists in the air, accusing everyone and everything—the rim, the officials, the basketball gods—of being at fault. She crushed one chair after punching another. Then, she screamed, not at anyone in particular, but at herself. She said that the game she played was “probably my worst half” ever.

The last buzzer went off, and she raised her arms one more time, sending gold and black confetti raining down from above.

After helping second-seeded Iowa rally from an eight-point deficit in the last 2:10 of regulation, Clark finished with 34 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and several clutch plays. The Hawkeyes defeated fifth-seeded Nebraska 94-89 in overtime to win the Big Ten Tournament for the third time in a row at the sold-out Target Center.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder remarked, “You could be able to keep Caitlin down for a half.” “You’re not holding her down during the entire match. It is not possible.

Iowa (29-4) most likely earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 with the three-peat.

Having won three times as the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Clark became only the second player in league history to do so.After helping second-seeded Iowa rally from an eight-point deficit in the last 2:10 of regulation, Clark finished with 34 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and several clutch plays. The Hawkeyes defeated fifth-seeded Nebraska 94-89 in overtime to win the Big Ten Tournament for the third time in a row at the sold-out Target Center.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder remarked, “You could be able to keep Caitlin down for a half.” “You’re not holding her down during the entire match. It is not possible.

Iowa (29-4) most likely earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 with the three-peat.

Having won three times as the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Clark became only the second player in league history to do so.

According to Clark, “there was definitely a sense of the March tension in the air.” We will need to find less glamorous means to win if we are to meet our targets by March. You must possess tenacity and grit. We’ve already experienced it. We’re prepared for it. Simply put, I’m proud of our team. Every storm we experienced was passed. We continued to battle.

Clark, who was playing her third game in less than 48 hours, was clearly not tired, but she was quite frustrated after missing her first six strokes. Up until the ice thawed from Division I’s all-time leading scorer, Hannah Stuelke (25 points, nine rebounds) and Clark’s unsung supporting cast kept it close.

When Iowa was down 46-35 at the half, the biggest halftime deficit of the year, Clark hit her

both of her second-half attempts, including her first three-pointer. With her 12 points in the third quarter, the Hawkeyes took their first lead since the first few minutes of the game.

“To be honest, I don’t think we win them with Caitlin [playing],” stated Clark, who finished with a 12-for-29 shooting line and five 3-pointers out of seventeen made. I was never able to move on to the next and let it go. For our team to be where we needed to be, I knew I had to improve at it, which was something I truly always struggled with.

As Nebraska (22-11) won 75-67 in the closing minutes, Iowa’s de facto home crowd fell silent. Clark’s step-back 3-pointer roused tens of thousands of people. With 1:02 remaining, her drive-and-dish on Kate Martin’s corner 3 reduced the deficit to two. Then, with 29.3 seconds remaining, Clark knotted the score with a drive.

Following Nebraska’s crushing

effort was miles away from success, so Clark stormed across the court and yelled to the throng:

Clark had the ball and Nebraska had a one-point lead after a back-and-forth overtime session. With 51.3 seconds left, the All-American went behind the arc once more and made a 3-pointer.

Clark made two free throws after intercepting a pass on the following possession. No. 22 snatched another pass during the last possession, dribbled out the timer, and threw the ball into the stands.