Caitlin Clark and a hot streak
But while the Huskies’ talented point guard was held out of action due to a fractured knee in December, the Hawkeyes’ stellar shooting guard is on an offensive hot streak that puts her on par with the best in college basketball’s last 20 seasons. And that includes the men’s branch as well.
Clark, 20, leads NCAA Division I in scoring and assists with 27.5 goals and 8.3 (assists) per game. She also has 18 consecutive games with at least 15 points and five assists. According to ESPN data, only Ja Morant, then at Murray State, and Trae Young, at Oklahoma, have better streaks.
Clark, meanwhile, has racked up 22 consecutive games reaching the 30-point mark, tied for the third-longest in the last 20 tournaments behind Kelsey Mitchell (28), Rachel Banham (23) and Megan Gustafson (22). However, she needed only 56 games to reach 1,500 points.
From record to record
Clark, a sophomore and five-star prospect, has five triple-doubles this season, the only player to do so in Big Ten Conference history. Two in a row with at least 30 points.
Sabrina Effect? The truth is that Clark already joined NY Liberty point guard Ionescu as the only Division I players to score 700 points, 200 rebounds and 200 assists in a single season in the last 20 years.
On the other hand, in January, Clark averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game, always playing 40 minutes on the court. He also broke Iowa’s single-game assists record (18) in a win over Penn State on Jan. 25.
In addition, she scored a career-high and Crisler Center women’s record 46 points against visiting Michigan in early February. She now holds the scoring mark at three different Division I venues: the Crisler Center, Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena (44) and Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena (39).
The Hawkeyes clinched the Big Ten regular season title on Sunday following their win over Michigan. Of Clark’s 38 goals scored, he made 8-11 on three-pointers (73%). They also qualified for the Top 16. They are 20-7 overall and 14-4 in the Big Ten.
Praise from Kevin Durant and Sue Bird
Among the countless accolades Clark has received from professional players, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and veteran WNBA player and future HOF Sue Bird stand out.
“I remember watching her live (in ‘high school’) and ‘wow,’ I had been told she was the best player in the country. At that point I understood why,” Durant said on the Boardroom podcast. “Everyone around her seemed slower,” he added.
Bird’s comments are similar.
“To me, she’s the most exciting player to watch in college. Whenever she plays, I have to watch the game,” said Bird, who will return for what will likely be her final season in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm.
While all signs point to South Carolina (25-1) forward Aliyah Boston winning this year’s WNBA MVP award, the impact Clark continues to make week in and week out is noteworthy.
And lest we forget, when the conference tournaments are over, March Madness will begin. It’s a different story.
