Iowa
Caitlin Clark triple-double: Iowa basketball star, Fever rookie makes history vs. Liberty
Caitlin Clark spent her four years at Iowa rewriting the record books of Big Ten and Division I women’s basketball.
Now, she’s doing the same in the WNBA.
With 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in the Indiana Fever’s 83-78 victory Saturday against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double in a game.
REQUIRED READING: Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark gets WNBA’s first triple-double by a rookie
It’s also the first triple-double by any player in the 24-year history of the Fever, who selected Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Clark secured the triple-double with 7:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, when she pulled down her 10th rebound of the afternoon.
“I think everybody was a little confused as to why they were going to so nuts over rebound,” Clark said after the game, laughing. “I mean, they can do that every time, but this was a little different.”
The 13 assists and 12 rebounds both matched career highs. It’s the fourth time in the past five games that Clark has dished out at least 10 assists. The West Des Moines native entered the day third in the WNBA in assists per game, with 7.1.
Clark’s production helped the Fever rally from a 10-point deficit with 6:05 remaining to knock off the Liberty, who came into the matchup with the best record in the WNBA. The win was Indiana’s sixth in its past nine games, improving its record to 9-13 following a 1-8 start to the season. The Fever currently holds the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs.
For Clark, triple-doubles aren’t anything particularly new. She had 17 over the course of her four-year career at Iowa, where she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship games while ending her time in college as the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball.
REQUIRED READING: Caitlin Clark vs Kate Martin recap: Iowa women’s basketball stars in Fever-Aces rematch
How many points did Caitlin Clark have today?
Clark finished with a team-high 19 points for the Fever.
She made seven of of 17 shots from the field and three of her 12 3-pointers.
Caitlin Clark stats
In 22 WNBA games, each of which she has started, Clark is averaging 16.1 points, 7.4 assists, six rebounds, 1.4 steals and 5.5 turnovers per game.
A prolific shooter throughout her career, Clark is making 39.3% of her field goals and 33.1% of her 3s this season.
Iowa
Illini rip Big Ten rival Iowa to reach Final Four for first time in 21 years
HOUSTON — Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25 points and Illinois ended Iowa’s underdog March Madness run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.
This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next weekend in Indianapolis.
The much taller Illini (28-8) outrebounded Iowa 38-21 in the South Region final. David Mirkovic led the way with 12 rebounds.
Coach Brad Underwood’s emphasis on recruiting in Eastern Europe has paid off in this tournament. Tomislav Ivisic of Croatia, who stands 7-foot-1, and his 7-2 twin brother Zvonimir have shined in March.
Andrej Stojakovic, who was born in Greece but whose father is Serbian three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, scored 17 points for third-seeded Illinois.
His famous father watched proudly as his son punched his ticket to the Final Four, and Wagler’s parents — who met when they played basketball at a junior college in Kansas — cheered wildly throughout for their son, who was named MVP of the region.
Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points for the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (24-13), who knocked off top-seeded Florida in the second round as part of an impressive run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, a four-time Division II national champion at Northwest Missouri State.
Iowa
Rick Barnes reacts to Tennessee’s win over Iowa State
No. 6 seed Tennessee (25-11) defeated No. 2 seed Iowa State (29-8), 76-62, on Friday in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The Vols advanced to their third consecutive Elite Eight under 11th-year head coach Rick Barnes.
“One, very humbled by it,” Barnes said. “Certainly proud of our basketball team. They worked really hard. Defensively, I thought we knew we would have to have a great effort defensively. Certainly Iowa State, outstanding. T.J. (Otzelberger), outstanding program, coach.
“This time of year is always tough when you lose a key guy like they did, and that’s part of the tournament. That’s the tough part about it, but just really proud of our guys and the effort they made and against a team that they play as hard as any team we played all year. The start of the game, I don’t think we’ve seen anything like that all year, and we were able to withstand it. Again, just really proud of the effort from our entire team. Everybody had a hand in us winning this game.”
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Iowa
Tennessee basketball vs Iowa State Sweet 16 tipoff time changed for later start
CHICAGO − Tennessee basketball’s Men’s NCAA Tournament game against Iowa State will start a little later than planned.
The Sweet 16 game between the No. 6 Vols (24-11) and No. 2 Cyclones (29-7) will now tipoff at 10:25 p.m. ET at the United Center on TBS.
The game was originally scheduled for 10:10 p.m. before the 15-minute delay. There is also the standard 30-minute break in between tournament games. Tennessee and Iowa State won’t begin until 30 minutes after the end of No. 1 Michigan (33-3) and No. 4 Alabama (29-5).
Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson status
Iowa State’s star forward Joshua Jefferson is questionable against Tennessee basketball according to the NCAA player availability report released at 6:32 p.m.
Jefferson sprained his ankle in the opening minutes of Iowa State’s first-round game against Tennessee State. He sat for the remainder of the game and missed the Cyclones’ win over Kentucky on March 22. Iowa State didn’t need the All-Big 12 forward as it generated 20 Wildcat turnovers in its 19-point victory.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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