Caitlin Clark's 41-Point Performance Leads Iowa to the Final Four

The Iowa Hawkeyes outshot the Louisville Cardinals in a thrilling 97-83 victory!

The hype is real. Caitlin Clark might just change the landscape of women’s basketball. She is must-see TV (and even better in person). In the Sweet 16, Clark totaled 31 points and eight assists in Iowa’s 87-77 victory over Colorado on Friday. On Sunday, her encore performance was even better. Clark became the first player to put together a 40+ point triple-double in NCAA tournament history. She finished the game with 41 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Clark gave the raucous crowd of over 11,000 something to cheer about. And it was her standout performance that led the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four for the first time since 1993.

Iowa defeated Louisville by a final score of 97-83.

Game Recap

Hailey Van Lith got the scoring going early knocking down two shots in the first minute to put Louisville up 4-0. That would continue as Van Lith assisted on the next basket and hit another jumper as she pounded her chest to put the Cardinals up 8-0 two minutes into the game.

Caitlin Clark hit a hesi-dribble to score Iowa’s first basket. She then stole a ball near halfcourt and finished at the rim. Clark then hit a three to make it a personal 7-0 run. Both teams would exchange multiple baskets back and forth over the next few minutes.

Clark continued to demonstrate her otherworldly ability with a couple of filthy step-back three-pointers. After trailing 8-0, the Hawkeyes finished the first quarter on a 25-13 run and led 25-21 at the end of the period. Clark scored 15 of her team’s 25 points.

Caitlin hit another three early in the 2nd quarter. After the Cardinals made a couple of baskets, Monka Czinano caught a pass deep under the basket and made a nifty reverse layup for Iowa. Iowa then knocked down back-to-back three-pointers putting them up nine (38-29) forcing Louisville to call a timeout.

Van Lith then knocked down consecutive baskets and blew a kiss to the crowd. The showmanship between Clark and Van Lith was awesome to witness live. Both players continued to make plays for their teams as the first half wound down. Iowa led 48-43 at the midway point.

The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 4-0 run in the first minute; similar to how they started the first half. Gabbie Marshall knocked down a triple. Then Clark led two consecutive fastbreaks. The first led to a wide-open layup from a dazzling pass by Clark. The second, Clark took it upon herself, knocking down her 6th triple in transition. Iowa responded in the blink of an eye with their own 8-0 run to put themselves back on top by nine.

Iowa’s firepower just continued to batter the Louisville defense. If it wasn’t Caitlin Clark knocking down multiple triples it was Clark finding her teammates open for threes. The Hawkeyes’ offense was like a juggernaut leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

They outscored Louisville 30-16 in the third period as they pushed their lead to 19 at the end of the quarter, 78-59. Clark had 11 in the quarter but the rest of her teammates put up 19 points in those 10 minutes.

“Their supporting cast made shots in the 3rd quarter. We stuck with the game plan. They did what they had to do to win the game. Their role players hit shots and came up big.” - Hailey Van Lith told me during the post-game press conference.

The pace finally started to slow down in the game with Iowa leading by 20 points in the 4th quarter. The Cardinals did not give up. They kept battling and at one point cut it down to 10 at 86-76. Van Lith and Olivia Cochran really gave it their all. Van Lith finished the game with a team-high 27 points and Cochran added a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. She also did an excellent job defending Iowa’s Center Monika Czinano who was limited to just two made field goals and nine points total.

Louisville outscored Iowa in the 4th quarter 24-19. But the 22-point deficit that was built by the Hawkeyes at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter was simply too much to overcome. The Cardinals scored 83 points but they just couldn’t slow down Clark and the Hawkeyes. Iowa won the game 97-83.

“It wasn’t the offensive end. We scored 83 points. You just have to tip your hat to them, they scored more.” Louisville’s Coach Jeff Waltz said.

After the game, I got to ask Van Lith about her teammate’s performance battling all game in the low post.

“I’m really proud of Olivia. She’s one of my best friends. She’s a dog, she’s a competitor. She went out and fought. You just want to play with people who have heart. No one has more heart than her.” Van Lith told me.

Some stats that really stand out from this game. Iowa’s transition offense led to 18 fast break points doubling up what Louisville had (9). The Hawkeyes also shot the ball extremely well, converting 54% FG (29-54) including 46% (16-35) from beyond the three-point line. Their 16-made threes were also double the amount that the Cardinals had. By comparison, Louisville made just 43% FG (30-70) and 36% (8-22 FG) from beyond the arc. Iowa also got to the foul line significantly more (30 attempts compared to 18). They were a +8 at the charity stripe over Louisville.

The Difference Maker

Both of these teams were fantastic on Sunday evening. They put on a show from start to finish. Louisville played their hearts out. They can be disappointed that they didn’t win but they certainly shouldn’t hang their head in defeat.

The Cardinals had several impact players. They had four players score in double figures including Van Lith (27 points), Cochran (20), Chrislyn Carr (11), and Mykasa Robinson (10). And a 5th player, Morgan Jones, with eight points. They really matched up well against Iowa going blow-for-blow.

Iowa’s McKenna Warnock added 17 points and Gabbie Marshall contributed with 14 points.

In the end, it was Clark’s phenomenal performance that made the difference. Hailey Van Lith had an incredible performance in her own right scoring 27 points. Caitlin Clark just scored 14 points more than her. And the Hawkeyes won the game by 14 points.

Superstars will their teams to victories and that’s exactly what Clark did. Caitlin scored or assisted on all 25 points Iowa scored in the first quarter. By halftime, she had scored or assisted on 42 of the team’s 48 points. And by the time the final buzzer went off, she was responsible for 71 of the team’s 97 points - 41 points and 12 assists leading to an additional 30 points.

Speaking to the media after the game, Clark had this to say.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet. About the only people who believed we could do it are me and (Coach Bluder). She believed in me and that’s all that really mattered. When you dream and work really hard anything can happen… I love to play this game. I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was little. I always wanted to go to the Final Four and raise the confetti.”

Congratulations Caitlin, you are headed to the Final Four!