Women's Top 25 roundup: Caitlin Clark, No. 3 Iowa win Big Ten tourney

 

[March 11, 2024]  Caitlin Clark overcame a slow start to score 34 points on Sunday, helping No. 3 Iowa outlast Nebraska for a 94-89 overtime win to capture the Big Ten Conference tournament championship in Minneapolis.

Clark had four points at halftime and missed all nine of her 3-point shot attempts before finding her groove. She scored 30 points during the second half and overtime, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining in overtime that gave the second-seeded Hawkeyes the lead for good.

Iowa (29-4) clinched its third consecutive Big Ten tournament championship. Clark sealed the win when she made a steal, dribbled the length of the court and happily flipped the ball high into the crowd as the buzzer sounded.

Alexis Markowski collected 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead fifth-seeded Nebraska (22-11). Natalie Potts added 21 points before fouling out for the Cornhuskers.

No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 8 LSU 72

MiLaysia Fulwiley made four 3-pointers and scored 24 points and the Gamecocks defeated the Tigers to win the Southeastern Conference championship game at Greenville, S.C.

Te-Hina Paopao added 12 points and Ashlyn Watkins blocked five shots for South Carolina (32-0), which prevailed in a contest marred by a late-game clearing of the benches.

Aneesah Morrow had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for LSU (28-5). Angel Reese had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Hailey Van Lith scored 14 points and Johnson had 13.

No. 5 Southern California 74, No. 2 Stanford 61

McKenzie Forbes scored 26 points and the Trojans led for all but a few early minutes in defeating the Cardinal in the Pac-12 Conference tournament championship game at Las Vegas.

Kayla Padilla had 13 points and Rayah Marshall added 10 points and 18 rebounds for Southern Cal (26-5), the tournament's second seed, which won its only other Pac-12 tournament in 2014. The Trojans won despite getting only nine points from freshman sensation JuJu Watkins.

Cameron Brink recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds and Kiki Iriafen had 18 points for top-seeded Stanford (28-5), which was battered on the boards. Southern California collected 18 offensive rebounds and had an overall 48-28 edge.

No. 9 UConn 58, Marquette 29

Paige Bueckers poured in 27 points and added 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals as the Huskies shut down the Golden Eagles in a Big East tournament semifinal in Uncasville, Conn.

Mar 10, 2024; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates her three-point basket against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Top-seeded UConn (28-5) led 31-20 at halftime, paced by 11 points and nine boards from Bueckers, but blew the game open from there.

Fifth-seeded Marquette (23-8) went scoreless in the fourth quarter, missing all 13 of its shots from the field, and shot just 18.2 percent overall in the second half. Liza Karlen led the Golden Eagles with 12 points and nine rebounds.

No. 14 Notre Dame 55, No. 10 North Carolina State 51

Hannah Hidalgo scored 22 points to lead the Fighting Irish to a victory over the Wolfpack in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in Greensboro, N.C.

Hidalgo also recorded six assists, six rebounds and two steals as fourth-seeded Notre Dame (26-6) won its first ACC tournament title since 2019 and sixth since joining the league in 2013. The victory made Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey the first Black woman to win the ACC tournament.

River Baldwin powered second-seeded North Carolina State (27-6) with 14 points, while Aziaha James recorded 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.

Georgetown 55, No. 21 Creighton 46

Kelsey Ransom finished with 14 points, six assists and three steals and Alex Cowan added 12 points as the Hoyas knocked off the Bluejays in their Big East Conference tournament semifinal in Uncasville, Conn.

Georgetown (22-10) shot only 38.5 percent from the field and had 14 turnovers, but the second-seeded Bluejays (25-5) hit just 26.3 percent of their shots overall and turned the ball over 10 times. The sixth-seeded Hoyas held a 43-28 rebounding advantage.

Morgan Maly finished with 14 points, the only player to score in double figures for Creighton. She added six rebounds.

--Field Level Media

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