Caitlin Clark flips a switch after ‘probably my worst half’ of the season

MINNEAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark was slumping.

But she kept herself from spiraling.

Saddled with “probably my worst half” of the season, Clark flipped a switch at halftime, and it turned out to be just in the nick of time.

Clark scored 30 of her 34 points after intermission, and the third-ranked Hawkeyes claimed their third straight Big Ten women’s basketball tournament championship, 94-89 in overtime over Nebraska.

“She didn't have a very good first half,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “You can maybe keep Caitlin down for a half. You're not keeping her down the whole game. There's no way.”

The nation’s best player and presumptive No. 1 pick of the Indiana Fever in the upcoming WNBA Draft, Clark made 2 of 13 shots in the first half, 0 of 9 from 3-point range. She did have eight assists to go with her four points.

Iowa trailed, 46-35.

“Yeah, the first half wasn't always the most fun,” Clark said. “It was kind of frustrating at times. We weren't really smiling and having fun.

“The second half, we flipped what we were doing, flipped the script, and had a lot more fun. Things started going our way.”

That’s maturity speaking.

“You've just got to wipe it, let it go, come back and respond,” Clark said.

“Coach Bluder would say, to be honest, I don't think we win (today) if you have freshman and sophomore Caitlin. I was never able to let it go and move on to the next. That was really something I always struggled with and something I knew I had to get better at.”

Bluder confirmed that.

“I agree. I think she has matured so much mentally. That goes into emotions too,” Bluder said. “We talk all about time control, what you can control. You can't control officials. You can't control that sort of thing.

“Caitlin is very passionate, she is. She had to learn how to play with emotion but not so much that it took her over the edge. She's learned to do that.

“She's worked hard on it, but I think my staff has held her accountable, and I think Kate Martin has held her accountable to that as well. When your peers can hold you accountable, sometimes it means a whole lot more than when it comes from coaches.”

Clark was 10-of-16 from the field after halftime. She had five points and two assists in Iowa’s 10-2 run at the end of regulation that forced overtime.

There, she nailed a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to put Iowa ahead for good, 89-87, then followed with two free throws for a 91-87 advantage.

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