Caitlin Clark will play her final home game on Monday night when the 1-seed Iowa Hawkeyes take on the 8-seed West Virginia Mountaineers in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Hawkeyes are heavy favorites to move on to the Sweet 16.
Clark’s record-setting career has featured plenty of memorable moments in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Still, Saturday’s first-round matchup against No. 16 seed Holy Cross didn’t get off to a great start. She turned the ball over five times within the first eight minutes and didn’t score her first field goal until 22 seconds left in the quarter. Her frustration was obvious and probably exacerbated by the Hawkeyes’ lead of just two points after the opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter was a different story, however, as Clark settled down and Iowa found its rhythm. The Hawkeyes outscored the Crusaders 25-9, turning what was a tight contest into an eventual 91-65 rout. And even though Clark struggled with her shot (8-for-19 from the field), she still finished with a game-high 27 points and nearly posted a triple-double, adding 10 assists and eight rebounds. The turnovers (six total) aren’t ideal but the game was never really in doubt after the first quarter.
Despite a sluggish start, Iowa eventually did what No. 1…
