It may have been an 8 p.m. local start time on a Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop a sell-out crowd from filling Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They were rewarded with a game to remember, as the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes (14-1, 3-0) survived a challenge from the Michigan State Spartans (11-3, 1-2).
The 76-73 victory was hard-fought, capped off by the heroics from none other than Caitlin Clark. She hit a logo 3-pointer at the buzzer to avoid the potential upset. It was a game in which Clark did most of the scoring and shooting, finishing with 40 points, five assists and a rebound. She fired 34 shots from the field and finished at 13-for-34.
Not to be outdone, Hannah Stuelke finished at 6-for-11 with 15 points, eight boards and three steals. Michigan State had four players with more than 10 shots: Jocelyn Tate at 4-for-10, DeeDee Hagemann at 6-for-11, Moira Joiner 3-for-13 and Julia Ayrault at 7-for-12.
The Spartans played deliberately throughout, starting off the game on an 8-0 run as the Hawkeyes found themselves struggling to score or handle the ball. Then, around the halfway point of the first quarter, the Hawkeyes came back to go on a 14-0 run. From there, it was a fierce back-and-forth battle as both sides were trying to get a grasp on the game. Let alone the ball, as turnovers…
