MINNEAPOLIS — A generation of kids grew up wanting to be like Michael, Magic and Bird.
Today, you don’t have to choose.
In Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal, the best scorer and shooter in women’s basketball history displayed some of the best vision in the nation.
For much of the University of Iowa’s 95-68 win over the University of Michigan, Caitlin Clark served as the lead choreographer, seemingly directing every move of the nine players surrounding her.
The passing lane was open freely.
Traffic lanes were forcibly cleared.
There was a bit of tension in the air as he took a three-point shot in the half court.
Clark, who had his worst performance of the season, entertained the packed Target Center crowd with an impressive performance of 28 points and 15 assists.
The No. 2 Hawkeyes (28-4) will play No. 5 Nebraska (22-10) in Sunday’s championship game, aiming for their third straight conference tournament title and possibly the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It turns out.
The Midwest rivals split two regular season games, with Clark averaging 34.5 points, eight assists, nine rebounds and three steals.
Clark, who also had two steals and four rebounds, was aggressive from the tip, picking up an offensive foul 28 seconds into the game and driving to the rim on his first four touches.
Michigan (20-13) hit its first six 3-pointers to take an early 25-17 lead, but is one of only six women in Division I history with at least 1,000 career assists. Clark, one of the players, quickly closed the gap with a series of jaws. Dropping a dime giving her teammates uncontested looks and layups.
After missing his first 11 3-pointers in the quarterfinals, Clark took his first shot from deep.
She then dribbled through the middle of the court for a shot to close out the first half and give the Hawkeyes a 51-42 lead at halftime.
Clark had 19 points and 11 assists.
Clark didn’t add another point until the end of the third quarter, but Clark hit his first three shots in the fourth and was turned over with 7:18 remaining. After his final 3-point shot, the senior yelled into the stands and asked them to stand up.
they obliged.
